ABSTRACT
Tourism contributed to the Southwest’s economic boom of recent decades. Phoenix and Tucson have experienced especially rapid growth in hightech industries, while New Mexico cities such as Ruidoso and Taos have become popular ski resorts and tourist centers. Pecos National Monument, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Casa Grande, Montezuma Castle, Grand Canyon National Park, White Sands National Park, Hoover Dam, and other sites have contributed immensely to the regional tourism industry, which has replaced much of the farming and mining economy. At the same time, the rise of tourism and spread of development-including sprawling retirement communities-have raised fears among preservationists of destructive changes in the geophysical and cultural landscape.
