Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Located primarily in Maricopa County, it is a major suburb of Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau releases, the population of the city is 154,065. Peoria is currently the sixth largest city in Arizona for land area, and the ninth largest for population. It was named after Peoria, Illinois. Peoria is now larger in population than its namesake. It is the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners who share the Peoria Sports Complex. In July 2008, Money magazine listed Peoria in its "Top... 100 Places to Live". Peoria sits on flat gently sloping desert terrain in the Salt River Valley, and extends into the foothills of the mountains to the north. Seasonal rainfall and runoff from mountain snowmelt filled the Salt River, at times flooding the valley and wiping out months of backbreaking labor. If the area was to become habitable and productive all year, the cycle of flood and drought had to be replaced with a reliable supply of water that could be controlled year-round.
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