Ciudad Morelos (Cuervos) is a town in the

Mexicali Valley Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is h ...

, a municipal demarcation that belongs to the municipality of Mexicali, in

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, Mexico. Founded on 20 October 1909, it is considered one of the most important communities in the valley, the second most populous, according to the number of inhabitants reported in the 2020 census, which amounted to 9,572 people. The name Cuervos, as it is mostly known, derives from the fact that in this town there was a railway station of the so-called Intercalifornia Railroad, which received the name ''Estación Cuervos''.

Geography

Ciudad Morelos is located approximately from the state capital,

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...

. It is connected by state highway number 6 and by state highway number 15, the latter exits to the north to intersect with state highway number 8 that leads to Los Algodones and to the south it intersects with state highway number 2; Number 6 communicates to the northeast with the ejido República Mexicana and to the southwest with the town of Paredones; a local road leads to the southeast and also intersects with state highway number 2 near Colonia Granados and Colonia 5 de Mayo. To the north, practically conurbated with Ciudad Morelos, are the Álamo neighborhood, La Culebra neighborhood, and La Panga. On the other hand, although it is close to the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

, there is no border crossing that connects it with the United States, with the city of Somerton on the other side of the border. Cuervos is a relevant town within the Mexicali Valley. It is the seventh most important town by number of inhabitants within the municipality, and traditionally it is considered the second most important after

Guadalupe Victoria Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and afte ...

in the valley area. Ciudad Morelos is home to one of the UABC university campuses.

History

Around 1901, in the Valley of Mexicali, the first railway in the north of Mexico began to be designed, the Intercalifornia known as El Pachuco. This railway project was financed with capital from the United States. The Government of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

had not contemplated the use of the Baja California region, so the Americans requested to transport supplies by train between their cities of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and Yuma. On 6 May 1904, a contract was signed between the Government of Mexico and the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

, Compañía del Ferrocarril del Sur, however the successive floods of the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

between 1905 and 1907, interrupted the service that was normalized until August 1909. It was in operation for 50 years, from August 1909 to March 1959, traveling the Mexicali- Algodones route. It mainly transported passengers that crossed the northern part of the Mexicali Valley with the United States border line, through 18 railway stations: Mexicali, Packard, Ampac, Palaco, Pascualitos, Sesbania, Casey, Cucapa, Pólvora, Hechicera, Burdick, Volcano, Bataques, Tecolotes, Paredones, Cuervos, Dieguinos, Algodones, to later interconnect with Yuma.

References

{{reflist Mexicali Municipality Populated places in Baja California