Bavispe is a small town and a
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' ...
in the northeast part of the
Mexican state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de 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 divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
.
Geography
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 has boundaries with the following municipalities: in the north with
Agua Prieta
Agua Prieta ("dark water") is a town in the 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, Douglas, Arizona. The municipality c ...
, in the south with
Bacerac, in the west with
Nacozari and in the east with the state of
Chihuahua.
Area
The area of the municipality is 2,475.82 km
2., which makes up 1.34% of the state total.
Climate
Most of the area is mountainous, since it lies on the west side of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Due to the elevation the average annual temperature is 20.8°C.
[
]
Rivers
The only river of any importance is the Rio Bavispe, which begins in Chihuahua and crosses the region from north to south.
Population
The municipal population in 2020 was 1,169, a drop from the 1,377 recorded in 2000. The municipal seat had a population of 674 in 2020.
Etymology
The land now occupied by the municipality was once inhabited by the Opata tribe, from which came the name. Bavispe is derived from the word "Bavipa", which means "place where the river changes direction".
History
Bavispe was founded in 1645, by the Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
missionary Cristóbal García and called San Miguel de Bavispe.[ In 1779, a Spanish was formed at the location, manned entirely by ]Opatas
The Opata (, /ˈopata/) are an Indigenous people in Mexico. Opata territory, the "Opatería" in Spanish, encompasses the mountainous northeast and central part of the state of Sonora, extending to near the border with the United States. Historica ...
("").
Economy
The population is highly dependent on agriculture and cattle raising. Grasses are grown as cattle fodder. Beans and corn are also grown for subsistence. The cattle herd is sizable with over 11,000 head counted in 2000.
Attractions
Part of Los Ajos-Bavispe National Forest Reserve is adjacent. This is one of Mexico's oldest protected areas, created almost 70 years ago. The reserve was created to preserve eight mountain tops, or "sky islands," and to protect the watersheds of three important Sonoran rivers: the Rio Sonora, the Bavispe River (which is a tributary to the Yaqui River
The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in the Yaqui or Yoreme language) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It was formerly known as the Rio del Norte. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, th ...
), and the San Pedro River.Los Ajos-Bavispe reserve
/ref>
References
Sources consulted
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de MexicoINEGI
National Institute of Statistic
External links
Bavispe, Ayuntamiento Digital
''(Official Website of Bavispe, Sonora)''
*
{{Sonora
Missions in Sonora
Jesuit history in North America