Nacozari de García is a small mining town surrounded by the Nacozari de García Municipality in the northeast of the Mexican state of Sonora.

Geography

The municipal seat had a population of 11,193 in 2000. It is located at an elevation of 1,040 meters. The municipal area is 3,069.52 km² with a population of 14,363 registered in 2000. The land is mountainous and is part of the spurs 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 ...

mountains. There is a reservoir La Angostura, which dams up the Río Bavispe.

Communications

The municipal seat and main settlement is on Federal Highway 17, which connects

Agua Prieta Agua Prieta (English: ''Dark Water'', Opata: ''Bachicuy'') is a town in Agua Prieta Municipality in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Sonora. It stands on the Mexico–U.S. border, adjacent to the town of Douglas, Arizona. The mu ...

with

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, the ...

. The distance to Agua Prieta is 123 kilometers. It is also on the railroad that connects with

. There is a small airport for light aircraft.

History

Nacozari, as we know it, began with the discovery of mines in 1660. The first settlement was called Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Nacozari and was founded as part of the network of Royal Mines by Jesuit Missionary Gilles de Fiodermon. The mines were acquired by Anglo American U.B. Teader mining company in 1867, which sold them to The Moctezuma Copper Company, a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge. American style housing was built, together with a library and a small hospital. Copper was hauled partially by mule trains, until the railroad was finished in 1904. By 1907, Nacozari had become the metropolis of far northeastern Sonora. It had 5,000 people, mostly Mexicans and Americans, with some Chinese. Phelps retained the mines until 1948 when they were exhausted. A large mine, La Caridad, was discovered about 20 miles southeast of Nacozari in 1968. By 1979, the population of Nacozari was back to about 3,000. As Mexicana de Cobre, the federal government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop La Caridad, and revive other mines in the area. Nacozari was estimated to have 18,600 people in 1986, and 30,000 in 1989. La Caridad is ranked the third largest copper mine in the world. The municipal seat was first called Placeritos de Nacozari but changed its name to Nacozari de García to honor the railroad engineer Jesús García, who saved the town from a dynamite explosion on 7 November 1907. Besides Nacozari, there are monuments to Jesús García in many other Mexican cities and towns. November 7 is the Day of the Railroader in Mexico. All except essential employees of the National Railways of Mexico get the day off. Many streets in Mexico are named Jesús García or the ''Héroe de Nacozari''. Poems and songs have been written about him, and the accident

The name Nacozari is an Opata language, Opata word that means "abundance of

nopal Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it i ...

Economic activity

The main economic activity is the copper mine of Mina Mexicana de Cobre, S.A de C.V, which employs most of the labor force (3,012 workers in 2000)

Cattle raising is also important with 16,375 head counted in the 2000 census. Calves are exported to the United States, United States of America.

Neighboring municipalities

Neighboring municipalities are: *

Agua Prieta Municipality Agua Prieta Municipality is a municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico. As of 2015, the municipality had a total population of 82,918. Localities * San Bernardino Lagunas Adjacent municipalities and counties * Janos Municipality, Chihuahu ...

to the north, *

Bavispe Municipality Bavispe (municipality) is a municipality in 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 of North America. It ...

to the east, *

Bacerac Municipality Bacerac (municipality) is a Municipalities of Mexico State, municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico. References

{{coord, 30.2976, N, 108.8168, W, source:wikidata, display=title Municipalities of Sonora ...

to the southeast, * Villa Hidalgo Municipality and Cumpas Municipality to the south, *

Arizpe Municipality Arizpe (municipality) is a municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico. The Municipality of Arizpe is one of the 72 municipalities of the Mexican state of Sonora, located in the north-central region of the state in the Sierra Madre Occidental ...

to the west, and *

Bacoachi Municipality Bacoachi (municipality) is a Municipalities of Mexico, municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico. References

{{coord, 30.6532, N, 109.9790, W, source:wikidata, display=title Municipalities of Sonora ...

and

Fronteras Municipality Fronteras Municipality is a municipality in 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 of North America. It ...

to the northwest. See detailed map of the municipality at

Notes

References

Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

INEGI
* Ibarra, Ernesto

', 2016
Asociación Historia de Nacozari de García, A.C.

External links

Nacozari de García, Ayuntamiento Digital
''(Official Website of Nacozari de García, Sonora)''
Gobierno de Sonora article
Spanish
Story of Jesús García
English

Spanish
Asociación Historia de Nacozari de García, A.C.
Spanish
Fotos de Nacozari on Facebook
Spanish {{DEFAULTSORT:Nacozari de Garcia Populated places in Sonora Mining communities in Mexico