ARIZPE

'Arizpe' is both a small town and a municipality in the north of the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located at 30°20'"N 110°09'"W. The area of the municipality is 2,806.78 sq.km. The population in 2005 was 2,959 of which 1,743 lived in the municipal seat as of the 2000 census.

Contents

History and Origen of the Name

Rivers

Economy

Tourist Attractions

Sources Consulted

External Sources

See Also

History and Origen of the Name

The region of Arizpe was occupied by the Opata tribe. The name is derived from the roots of the Opata language. Arit means "ferocious ant" and Pa means "Place of ferocious, red ants". [1]
Arizpe was founded in 1646 by the Jesuit missionary Jerónimo de la Canal as a mission. In 1776 Arize was proclaimed the capital of the Provincias Internas de Occidente, with jurisdiction over Nueva Vizcaya (today Durango and Chihuahua), Arizona and both Californias, Sonora and Sinaloa. The capital of the Intendencia was here and Arizpe was already a city by the end of the eighteenth century, the first in Sonora. In 1775 an expedition of settlers was formed, headed by captain Juan Bautista de Anza, which explored and opened one of the routes to Alta California, establishng the city of San Francisco California. Juan Bautista de Anza's remains lie in the main church at Arizpe.

Rivers

The area of the municipality is crossed by the Sonora River from north to south. This river rises near Cananea and flows into the Abelardo L. Rodríguez reservoir near Hermosillo.

Economy

Agriculture is the main economic activity, with farms lying in the valley of the Sonora River. Most of the crops are grasses used for the raising of cattle. There were over 40,000 head in 2000.

Tourist Attractions

The municipal seat has a very attractive church and there are gardens with palm trees. The main church, Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, was built around 1646 and preserves retables with oil paintings of saints and wooden and plaster sculptures.

Sources Consulted

★ Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico

★ Inegi

★ Gobierno de Sonora

External Sources

★ Article on Arispe Spanish

See Also

★ Municipalities of Sonora