In Phoenix’s “Valley of the Sun,” “the Valley” means the Salt River Valley and metro region

A local shorthand with geographic roots and a promotional past

In central Arizona, “the Valley” is a widely used shorthand for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The phrase appears in everyday conversation, traffic reports and local branding, but it can also refer to a specific landform: the Salt River Valley, the broad basin where Phoenix and many surrounding cities developed.

Geographically, the Phoenix urban core sits in a low-lying area surrounded by multiple mountain ranges and desert uplands. Those ranges help explain why “valley” became the default descriptor. At the same time, residents often use the term in a metropolitan sense—meaning not just Phoenix proper, but a sprawling region of interconnected communities with shared infrastructure, labor markets and media coverage.

What “the Valley” includes in practice

When residents say “the Valley,” they are typically referring to metro Phoenix—an area that extends well beyond the city limits. In common usage, it encompasses major East Valley and West Valley municipalities and the built-up suburban corridor connecting them.

• East Valley communities commonly associated with the term include Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek.
• West Valley communities commonly associated with the term include Glendale, Peoria, Avondale, Goodyear and Surprise.

Local definitions can vary at the edges, especially where urban development transitions into open desert or smaller exurban towns. Even among long-time residents, there is no single universally accepted boundary for where the Valley “ends,” reflecting the way the region has expanded over decades.

A term shaped by both topography and branding

“Valley of the Sun” is often treated as a timeless nickname, but it emerged as part of 1930s-era promotion tied to Phoenix and the surrounding area. Over time, the longer phrase was frequently shortened in casual speech to “the Valley,” which became a local identifier that can signal shared regional belonging more than strict geography.

In Arizona, “the Valley” most often functions as a regional label—an umbrella term for the Phoenix-area metro—while still reflecting its underlying setting in the Salt River Valley basin.

Why the boundaries can be hard to pin down

Even with recognizable mountain ranges around much of the metro area, the basin does not form a perfect ring. The landscape transitions gradually in some directions, and ongoing growth has pushed development into areas where the “Valley” label can feel more cultural than cartographic. As a result, the term remains both practical and flexible: a compact way to reference a large and diverse metropolitan region anchored by Phoenix.