Phoenix (pronounced FEE-nicks) is located in central Arizona about 150 miles south of Flagstaff and 150 miles north of Tucson. It is situated on a broad, flat desert basin amid scattered barren rocky mountain peaks. It is a large sprawling city that has expanded to envelop the surrounding communities of Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Glendale and Sun City. It has a small downtown area containing a few dozen high-rise buildings surrounded by a large metropolitan area that has expanded outward rather than upward. Russian in Scottsdale -edu -news -gov -newsletter -newspaper -magzine -author -book