Altar is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

in north-western

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. The municipality had a 2010 census population of 9,049 inhabitants, the vast majority of whom lived in the municipal seat of

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

, which had a population of 7,927 inhabitants. There are no other localities with over 1,000 inhabitants. Surrounding municipalities are

Sáric , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_seal ...

Tubutama Tubutama is a town in Tubutama Municipality, in the north-west of the Mexican state of Sonora. Eusebio Kino, SJ, founded Mission San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama in 1691. Tubutama was the headquarters of religious administration for the entir ...

Atil Atil (also Itil) , was the capital of the Khazar Khaganate from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 10th century. Known to have been situated on the Silk Road in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, its precise location has long bee ...

, Trincheras, Pitiquito, Caborca and

Oquitoa Oquitoa is a small town surrounded by Oquitoa Municipality in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora. History It was founded in 1689 by the Jesuit missionary: Eusebio Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, E ...

. The northern boundary is with

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The total area of the municipality (urban and rural) is 3,944.90 square kilometers. The municipal population in 2010 was 9,049 inhabitants, with 7,927 (87.6%) living in the municipal seat. Other settlements are La Cabecera Municipal, Ejido 16 de Septiembre, Ejido Llano Blanco, and Ejido Santa Matilde. The territory of the municipality was originally inhabited by the O'odham people. It was founded in 1775 by Captain Bernardo de Urrea, as a military fort, being called Santa Gertrudis del Altar and later Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Altar. The land lies at an elevation of sloping towards the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. The climate is dry with extremely high temperatures in the summer. The temperatures sometimes exceed and is among the hottest places in the world from May to September. The economy is based on agriculture and cattle raising. The main crops are wheat, cotton, corn, beans, sorghum, and table grapes. The town is also a staging area for the flow of immigrants that will attempt entry into the United States through the shared

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

Towns and villages

Mapa de localidades del municipio de Altar

The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:2010 census tables: INEGI

Adjacent municipalities and counties

* Sáric Municipality - northeast *

Tubutama Municipality Tubutama Municipality is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora in north-western Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion ...

- east * Atil Municipality - southeast * Oquitoa Municipality - southeast * Trincheras Municipality - south * Pitiquito Municipality - southwest * Caborca Municipality - west *

Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

- north

References

{{coord, 30, 43, N, 111, 50, W, source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Municipalities of Sonora 1775 establishments in New Spain