Arizona The West's Most Western Town Scottsdale is characterized by natural beauty, preservation of the environment and concern for future generations.
City ordinances protect native plants and natural open spaces from rapid development.
Revenue is currently raised to purchase land in the McDowell Mountains to preserve the area's natural ecosystem, wildlife habitats and stretches of pristine land. The Scottsdale School District has been rated number one in the southwestern U.S. for several consecutive years by Expansion Management magazine. District Scores on standardized achievement tests are consistently well above national averages. Scottsdale Almanac, a publication of the Scottsdale Chamber of commerce Carefree and Cave Creek Carefree and Cave Creek are nestled in the Arizona Desert Foothills, directly north of Scottsdale and approximately 15 miles northeast of Phoenix. Cave Creek, a frontier town with a mining and ranching history, was settled in the 1870s and incorporated in 1986.