The Empty Interior of the US stretches from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains west to the Sierra Nevada of California, the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. The name "Empty Interior" is derived from the areas low population density across its space. Arizona is completely encompassed by the Empty Interior.
The terrain of the Empty Interior is much more rugged than that of the eastern United States. Younger mountain ranges result in higher elevations and more pointy, rugged peaks. Glacial carving also played a major role in the western Interior's topography. (http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2008/May/20080618210046eaifas0.9248011.html)
The Empty Interior is home to more plateaus than mountains. The Colorado Plateau encompasses half of Utah and nearly half of Arizona's total land.
A substantial part of America's total national park system is found in the interior West, including such famous parks as Yellowstone, Glacier, and Arizona's Grand Canyon. But the national parks are only a small portion of the total public land area. The largest share of these lands is held by the Bureau of Land Management, a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which puts this land to many uses, grazing being the most important. The bureau has also been the main agent in the construction of irrigation and hydroelectric dams in the area. Arizona is home to some of the most complex irrigation systems and hydroelectric dams. Over 80 percent of the water from these federally supported projects is used to irrigate over 4 million hectares. (http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2008/May/20080618210046eaifas0.9248011.html)
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