Geographic Description of Legislative District 23

This district comprises most of Pinal County, along with parts of south Avondale, extreme southwest Phoenix, northeast Maricopa County and two precincts in Gila County north and east of Dudleyville. It includes a wedge-shaped segment of the Phoenix metro area that contains both the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The balance of the Maricopa County part of the district lies in the northeast corner of the county and includes the Superstition and Four Peaks wilderness areas, Saguaro, Canyon and Apache lakes and a part of the Tonto National Forest. The parts of Pinal County excluded from this district are among its fastest-growing: a significant part of Apache Junction and all of the Gold Canyon Ranch development (they are District 22); an area around SaddleBrooke, Oracle Junction and Biosphere2 in southern Pinal (they are in District 25), and a slice of southwest Pinal County that includes the Tohono O’Odham Nation (which is also in District 25). This district also includes all of the Gila River Indian Reservation south of the Phoenix metroplex, as well as adjoining sections of Phoenix south of Lower Buckeye Rd. and west of 83rd Ave. Finally, the district includes parts of the city of Avondale south of Buckeye Rd. Phoenix International Raceway and Firebird lie within the district. The major population centers outside of Maricopa County are the areas around Casa Grande and Apache Junction in Pinal County. Significant growth within the district has also occurred along the I-10 corridor between Tucson and Phoenix. A land swap has been negotiated to site a proposed copper mine near Superior. At full build-out, it will be the largest copper mine in North America.