Creel () is a town in the Sierra Tarahumara (part 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 ...

) of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is the second-largest town (after San Juanito) in the

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 go ...

Bocoyna Bocoyna is a town and seat of the municipality of Bocoyna, in Chihuahua state of northern Mexico. As of 2010, the town of Bocoyna had a population of 796, up from 735 as of 2005. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Principales r ...

. It is located some to the southwest of the state capital,

Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua ''(La Ciudad de Chihuahua)'' () is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a population of 988,065 inhabitants. Am ...

. At the census of 2010, it had a population of 5,026, down from 5,338 as of 2005. It is notable for being inhabited mostly by Native Americans of the

Rarámuri The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability. Originally, inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri re ...

ethnic group, and the use of their native language is widespread in the population in daily life and public events such as church masses. Creel was historically a logging town, although tourism has become the primary job source over the last 20 years because it is close to the

Copper Canyon Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers tha ...

as well as

Basaseachic Falls Basaseachic Falls (Spanish: ''Cascada de Basaseachi'') on the Basaseachic River is the second-highest waterfall in Mexico, located in the Parque Nacional Basaseachic (Basaseachic Falls National Park) at Cañón Basaseachic in the Copper Canyon ...

, one of the highest waterfalls in Mexico. There are many hotels, restaurants and a number of tours down into the canyons and throughout the surrounding area.

History

Creel was founded with the name 'Estación Creel' on May 26, 1907, as a railroad depot on the Chihuahua–Pacific line. It was named after

Enrique Creel Enrique Clay Creel Cuilty, sometimes known as Henry Clay Creel (30 August 1854 – 18 August 1931) was a Mexican businessman, politician and diplomat, member of the powerful Creel-Terrazas family of Chihuahua. He was a member of the Cientí ...

governor of Chihuahua state at the time. He was the son of Reuben W. Creel, American delegate in Chihuahua. Creel was founded as a planned agricultural settlement that was intended to have a small number of Mexicans who were supposed to spread their culture onto the

, who were supposed to be the majority of the population. It was supposed to have 25 Mexican and 75 Rarámuri families, but in its early years only had about 30 Rarámuri families although the right number of Mexicans.Edward H. Spicer, ''Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960'' (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1962), p. 40 For many years before its completion the

Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chihuahua-Pacific Railway), also known as El Chepe from its reporting mark CHP, is a major rail line in northwest Mexico, linking Chihuahua City, to Los Mochis and its port, Topolobampo. It crosses the Si ...

line ended at Creel.

Climate

Creel's high altitude gives it a cool

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cwb''), characterised by mild days and cold nights with frost occurring most mornings from October to April, though daytime temperatures in those months remain comfortable. Precipitation during the winter is not infrequent, but snowfalls are not particularly common, occurring on average only four days per year (more frequently on the nearby mountain peaks).

Transport

The Chihuahua al Pacífico (Chepe) railroad runs from the city of Chihuahua to

Los Mochis Los Mochis () is a coastal city in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Ahome. As of the 2010 census, the population was 362,613, which was 61 percent of the municipality's population. Los Mochis is th ...

with four passenger trains arriving daily - two from each direction. There is also

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

service to Chihuahua, as well as regular service down to the small town of Batopilas, a trip that takes about five hours each way.

Gallery

Image:Tarahumara women at Arareco Lake 1063.JPG, Lake Arareco.

References

Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática

External links