Flagstaff is a city located in northern
Arizona, in the southwestern
United States. As of July 2006, the city's estimated population was 58,213.The population of the
Metropolitan Statistical Area was estimated at 127,450 in 2007. It is the
county seat of
Coconino County.In 2005,
Men's Journal named Flagstaff as No. 2 on its Best Places to Live list, and
National Geographic cited the city in its list of "10 Great Towns That Will Make You Feel Young." The city is named after a
Ponderosa Pine flagpole made by a scouting party from
Boston (known as the "Flagstaff Tea Party") to celebrate the United States Centennial on
July 4,
1876.Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the
Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the continental United States. Flagstaff is located adjacent to
Mount Elden, just south of the
San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona.
Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,850 m), is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of Flagstaff in
Kachina Peaks Wilderness.
Stephen John Nash,
OC,
OBC (born
7 February 1974), is a
Canadian professional
basketball player who plays
point guard for the
Phoenix Suns of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). Nash, who was born in
South Africa but grew up in
Canada, enjoyed a successful
high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a
scholarship by
Santa Clara University. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three
NCAA Tournament appearances, and Nash was twice named the
West Coast Conference Player of the Year.After graduating from Santa Clara as the team's all-time leader in
assists, he entered the
1996 NBA Draft and was selected as the 15th pick by the Phoenix Suns. He made a minimal impact, and was traded to the
Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his third season with the Mavericks, he was voted into his first
NBA All-Star Game and had earned his first
All-NBA selection. Together with
Dirk Nowitzki and
Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the
Western Conference Finals the
following season.
