Tempe tourist information

Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with a 2004 population estimate of 160,676. Darrell Duppa is usually credited with suggesting the name, adopted in 1879, after comparing the Salt River valley near a 300-foot-tall butte to the Vale of Tempe near Mount Olympus in Greece. Duppa also had the honor of giving name to Phoenix, 11 years earlier.

Tempe is a major suburb of Phoenix and is located immediately southeast. The upscale suburb of Scottsdale is immediately to the north of Tempe.

Tempe is the location of the head offices of US Airways (formerly America West Airlines) and the main campus of Arizona State University. It was the longtime host of the Fiesta Bowl, although the BCS game will move to Glendale in 2007. On New Year's Eve, the city hosts the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Block Party, one of the nation's largest New Year's Eve parties. The event typically has a national band heading a concert, along with several other lesser known local bands. It was also the site of one of the three Presidential debates in 2004 and Super Bowl XXX. It is additionally the spring training host city of the Anaheim Angels (or Los Angeles Angels) of Anaheim. The best tourist attractions include Desert Botanical Garden, Downtown Phoenix/Washington Street, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Taliesin West.

Within Tempe are the Tempe Buttes. The Salt River runs west through the northern part or Tempe; part of the river is dammed in two places to create Tempe Town Lake.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the landlocked city has a total area of 104.1 km² (40.2 mi²). The city of Tempe is bordered by Mesa to the east, Scottsdale to the north, Phoenix and Guadalupe to the west, and Chandler to the south. 103.8 km² (40.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.32% water including Tempe Town Lake.

Tempe is generally flat, except for Hayden Butte, located next to Sun Devil Stadium, Twin Buttes and Bell Butte on the western edge of Tempe, and Papago Park in northwest Tempe. Elevation ranges from 1140 feet at Tempe Town Lake to 1495 feet atop Hayden Butte.

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