Bacadéhuachi () is a village in

Bacadéhuachi Municipality Bacadéhuachi Municipality () is a municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico. Its seat is Bacadéhuachi Bacadéhuachi () is a village in Bacadéhuachi Municipality in the northeast of the Mexican state of Sonora. It is 269 kilometers ...

in the northeast of the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

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 Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. It is 269 kilometers northeast of the state capital,

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo Municipality, Her ...

Origin of the name and history

The name is derived from the

Opata language Ópata (also Tegüima, Teguima, Tehuima, Tehui, Eudeve, Eudeva, Heve, Dohema, Jova, Joval, Tonichi, Sonori and Ure; opt, Teguima) is either of two closely related Uto-Aztecan languages, ''Teguima'' and ''Eudeve'', spoken by the Opata people of n ...

with the roots "Baca", reed, "degua", entrance, door, and "tzi", place; "In the place of the reed". Previously this area was inhabited by Opata settlements. Bacadéhuachi was founded in 1645 by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary Cristóbal García as a Jesuit mission, named Mission San Luis Gonzága de Bacadéhuachi. In 1930, the municipality of Bacadéhuachi was incorporated into the municipality of Bacerac, but in 1931, it was considered as a separate municipality, and the town of Bacadéhuachi was named as head municipal.

Geography

The region is semi-arid and lies in the foothills of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

. The main river is the

Bavispe Bavispe is a small town and a municipality in the northeast part of the Mexican state of Sonora. Location The municipality is located in the northeast of the state at . The elevation of the administrative seat is 902 meters above sea level. It ...

. There are pine forests in the mountainous areas and wildlife is abundant. Mammals still present are deer, puma, lynx, coyote, jaguar, mapache, and skunk. Some of the birds are the owl, nightingale, buzzard, and eagle.

Population decrease

The population has decreased since the last census in 1995 when there were 1,380 inhabitants. Scarce economic opportunities have caused many young people to emigrate. The population density is extremely low, with 0.88 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Economy

The economy is almost entirely based on agriculture and cattle raising, both of which are poorly developed due to the shortage of water. There were approximately 11,000 head of cows in 2005.

References

External links

Bacadéhuachi, Ayuntamiento Digital
''(Official WebSite of Bacadéhuachi, Sonora)''
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de MexicoINEGIGobierno de Sonora
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacadehuachi Populated places in Sonora