Arizona

Arizona is a governmental territory that is part of the United Republic of North America. It is considered a political remnant of the United States of America.

Covenant Invasion
At the end of the Human-Covenant War, the Covenant finally discovered the location of Earth and invaded it. By November 10, 2552, the Covenant had began to excavate and occupy built-up positions centered at Free-fire area OZONE in Arizona whilst attempting to activate a Forerunner artifact there. On November 17, Covenant battlenet cohesion broke with the departure of the Prophet of Truth through the portal to Installation 00. UNSC forces took advantage of this windfall and began a counteroffensive across the former southwestern URNA. On November 19, UNSC flagword LUX was declared and a UEG emergency evacuation broadcast was initiated in anticipation of a tactical nuclear deployment against shielded enemy positions at OZONE, which followed shortly after. On December 3, Fleet Admiral Joseph Harper directed Operation: MARSH FLASH, which successfully eliminated clusters of high-value Jiralhanae leadership still residing in the territory.

New Phoenix Incident
On July 25, 2557, The Ur-Didact arrived at Earth with his ship, the Mantle's Approach, and a Composer. The Didact used the Composer to target New Phoenix, Arizona, and successfully composed the entire population--approximately seven million people. John-117, who had managed to get aboard the Forerunner vessel, stopped the Didact before more damage could be done and destroyed the Mantle's Approach with a Mark 2556 MFDD HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon. The United Nations Space Command moved swiftly to establish a presence in the city, particularly in order to secure a Forerunner artifact at a local ONI facility. Soon after the city was first attacked, however, portals throughout the city opened and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant poured into it from Installation 03, along with a host of mechanical Prometheans. The enemies were repelled by the UNSC and the portals were closed when a device known as the Conduit was united with the artifact ONI had been studying. Due to uncertainty over the finality of the Didact's defeat, the UNSC Security Council decided to hide the details of the attack from the public, concealing it as an attack by only the Covenant remnants which had been stopped by the return of humanity's greatest hero, the Master Chief. Additionally, the Office of Naval Intelligence quarantined New Phoenix for a year. Six months later, however, ONI public relations officer John Sullivan released a statement to the press confirming the Covenant was not responsible for the attack. On March 24, 2558, eight months after the battle, the city's quarantine was lifted. A "Rebirth" ceremony was held in the city, presided over by UEG President Ruth Charet.

Geography
Arizona lies in the portion of the URNA classically referred to as "the southwest". Its capital, New Phoenix, lies in the western portion of Arizona and was the fourth-most populated city in the URNA prior to the Didact's attack.

Gallery
 File:Arizona.png|The location of New Phoenix in Arizona is highlighter on a holographic map of the URNA. File:Thorneschool.png|A young Gabriel Thorne discusses Arizona history in school. File:H4-ComposerFiringOnPhoenix.jpg|The Composer is fired on New Phoenix. File:HSS-Cinematic-Oscar Mike.jpg|An AV-14 Hornet flies toward New Phoenix during the fight for the city. File:H4Epilogue - NP Streets.jpg|The empty streets of New Phoenix following the Didact's attack. File:New Phoenix rebirth.jpg|The ceremony commemorating the end of the New Phoenix quarantine. 

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Spartan Strike
 * Halo Mythos