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 C ...

) of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

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

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

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

Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...

. 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 are a group of Indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their form of prayer that involves running for extended periods of time. Originally inhabitants o ...

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 th ...

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 José Enrique Clay Ramón de Jesús 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 w ...

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 had only 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 the city of Chihuahua to Los Mochis and its port, Topolobampo. It crosse ...

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 or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cwb''), characterised by mild days and cold nights with

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

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 Chihuahua may refer to: *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog breed), a breed of dog named after the state **Queso Chihuahua, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Munic ...

(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 motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

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