Cotton in Arizona: A historical geography

Abstract

This thesis is a historical geography of cotton production in Arizona from the prehistoric Hohokam cotton farms to the large-scale agribusiness operations that dominate modern Arizona agriculture. The purpose is to chart the expansion and distribution of cotton production and identify important cultural, biological, and physical factors that have influenced cotton planting decisions and so contributed to the evolution of Arizona's commercial cotton production region. In a final analysis, the businesses that are backward- and forward-linked to the growers--such as banks, agricultural implement and agricultural chemical dealers, and cotton ginners and cottonseed processors--have more responsibility in the evolution and endurance of Arizona's cotton production region than do the growers.