Sonora

Sonora, state (1990 pop. 1,823,606), 70,484 sq mi (182,554 sq km), NW Mexico, on the Gulf of California, S of Arizona. Hermosillo is the capital. Sonora is mostly mountainous, with vast desert stretches; along the gulf are low, broad coastlands. Reclamation projects on the Yaqui, Sonora, Mayo, and other rivers have opened large areas to agriculture. The most extensively irrigated of all Mexican states, Sonora is a leading national producer of cotton and wheat; other cereals and vegetables are also grown. Agriculture is highly mechanized. Cattle raising and fishing and aquaculture are important, and large quantities of shrimp are exported to the United States. Gold, silver, copper, and other metals are mined in Sonora. Power plants at Hermosillo and Guaymas have aided Sonora's rapid industrialization. Food processing and textile and automotive manufacturing are major industries, and numerous maquiladoras, low-cost foreign-owned plants which finish products for export to the United States, exist throughout the region. Nogales is the chief point of entry from the United States. Systematic Spanish exploration of Sonora, principally by Cristóbal de Oñate, began after Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's expedition in 1540. Spanish missionaries, notably Eusebio Francisco Kino, were active in colonizing the territory during the 17th cent. Originally part of Nueva Viscaya, which also included the present-day states of Chihuahua and Durango, Sonora was later united with Sinaloa; they became separate states in 1830. Sonora played a key role in the Mexican revolution against Porfirio Díaz that began in 1910.

State (pop., 2000: 2,216,969), northwestern Mexico. Bordering the U.S. and the Gulf of California, it covers 70,291 sq mi (182,052 sq km); its capital is Hermosillo. Explored by Spaniards in the 1530s, it became an important colonial mining district for copper, gold, and silver. It became a state in 1830, but the Yaqui Indian peoples were not finally subdued until the 20th century. It is generally arid and semiarid, and irrigation is used to grow winter vegetables, cereals, cotton, tobacco, and corn (maize).

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Sonora is one of the 31 federal states of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country.

Geography

Sonora's shores are washed by the Sea of Cortez in the Gulf of California, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean further south. Sonora is thus linked to the so-called "Pacific Rim," which offers ample opportunities for economic development as well as many challenges and opportunities for sustainable use of its natural resources. The Sonoran coastline is 1,208 km long.

Sonora borders the state of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south and Baja California to the northwest; to the north it shares an extensive border with the U.S. state of Arizona and a shorter one with New Mexico. To its west lies the Gulf of California; the state of Baja California Sur also shares a maritime boundary with Sonora.

The border with Chihuahua is 592 km, and the border with Sinaloa is 117 km. Sonora's border with Arizona is 568 km long, and its border with New Mexico is 20 km long; these borders allow for multiple economic, cultural, and political ties with the United States. The state's total perimeter is 2,505 km. Sonora is the second largest state in Mexico (184,934 km²), representing 9.2% of the nation's total area.

Sonora consists of four physiographic regions: The Sierra Madre Occidental, Parallel Mountains and Valleys, the Sonoran Desert, and the Coast of the Gulf of California. Sonora is located in a climactic strip in the northern hemisphere that has formed various deserts around the globe. The state is located at the same latitude as the deserts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and other regions.

An extensive network of roads, the backbone of which is a four-lane highway that crosses the state from south to north, joins Sonora with the rest of Mexico and with the United States.

Population

In 2000, Sonora had 2,839,969 inhabitants, of whom 50.1% were men and 49.9% were women; this represented 2.3% of Mexico's total population. Population growth has been steady, with an increase of over 700,000 people between 1980 and 2000. As of 2000, there were 271,277 children under 5 years of age, 474,481 children aged between 5 and 14 years, 422,588 between 15 and 24 years 740,930 between 25 and 49 years, and 307,693 adults 50 years and older.

According to the last official national census that counted the racial component (1921), 45.84% of the population was white, 40.38% was mestizo, and 13.78% was indigenous. These amounts have been changing due to the influx of indigenous and mestizo populations from the south.

The most populous cities in Sonora are:

• Hermosillo 707,890
• Ciudad Obregón 375,800
• Nogales 290,759
• Guaymas 101,505 (not counting Empalme)
• Navojoa 163,312
• San Luis Río Colorado 138,796

Government

The government of Sonora is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

The executive branch consists of a governor elected by direct vote every six years without the possibility of re-election. The current governor of Sonora is José Eduardo Robinson-Bours castelo of the PRI and PVEM.

The legislative branch consists of a unicameral legislature composed of 21 deputies elected directly and 12 deputies selected by proportional representation for a period of three years with no possibility of re-election.

The judicial branch of the state of Sonora is composed of seven judges. Currently Lic. Max Gutiérrez Cohen is the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the State.

Institutions of higher education

The main institution of higher education is the University of Sonora (UNISON), whose main campus is located in Hermosillo, with satellite campuses in Navojoa, Caborca, Santa Ana, and Nogales. UNISON is currently one of the biggest public institutions of higher education in Mexico.

• Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON) Unidad Obregón
• Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON) Unidad Empalme
• Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON) Unidad Guaymas
• Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON) Unidad Navojoa
• Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo (ITH)
• Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES) Campus Hermosillo
• Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES) Campus Navojoa
• Instituto Tecnológico de Nogales (ITN)
• Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cajeme (ITESCA)
• Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cananea (ITESCAN)
• Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Puerto Peñasco (ITSPP)
• Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM-COB) Campus Ciudad Obregón
• Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM-CSN) Campus Sonora Norte
• Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) Campus Caborca
• Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) Campus Hermosillo
• Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) Campus Navojoa
• Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) Campus Nogales
• Universidad de Sonora (UNISON) Campus Santa Ana
• Universidad del Valle de México (UVM), formerly Universidad del Noroeste (UNO)
• Universidad Kino
• Universidad La Salle Noroeste (ULSA)
• Universidad de Navojoa (UNAV)
• Universidad TecMilenio Campus Hermosillo
• Universidad TecMilenio Campus Ciudad Obregón
• Universidad TecMilenio Campus Navojoa

Political divisions

Sonora is subdivided into 72 municipalities (Spanish: municipios), each headed by a municipal president.

Economy

As of 2005, Sonora’s economy represents 2.8% of Mexico’s total gross domestic product or 18,284 million USD. Sonora's economy has a strong focus on export oriented manufacturing (i.e. maquiladora / INMEX). As of 2005, 181,277 people are employed in the manufacturing sector. There are a more than 213 companies operating under the federal INMEX or Prosec program in Sonora. The average wage for an employee in Sonora is approximately 174 pesos per day.

With a GDP per capita of US$10,534, Sonora ranks 9th among Mexican states.

Transportation

Highways

The main route is Mexican Federal Highway 15 running north-south from the USA border at Nogales (connection to Interstate 19) to the state of Sinaloa.

Mexican Federal Highway 2 runs east-west from Agua Prieta, near the border with Chihuahua, to San Luis Río Colorado and eventually reaches Baja California.

Mexican Federal Highway 8 runs from Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) to Sonoyta at the USA border.

In addition to those, many state routes communicate major cities with smaller towns. One of the most important state routes is Sonora State Route 100 which runs from Hermosillo to Bahía de Kino (Kino Bay).

Intercity Bus

Several companies offer low, mid and luxury class bus services between virtually all towns and cities in Sonora and to the rest of Mexico, also international destinations such as Tucson, Phoenix and Los Angeles in the United States.

Airports

Sonora has six international airports; however, one of them, Álamos International Airport (XAL) in the colonial town of Álamos, lacks of commercial flights. Airports with regular commercial flights include:

Ciudad Obregón International Airport (CEN) in Ciudad Obregón

General Ignacio Pesqueira Garcia International Airport (HMO) in Hermosillo

General José María Yáñez International Airport (GYM) in Guaymas

Nogales International Airport (NOG) in Nogales

Puerto Peñasco International Airport (PPE) in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point)

Also, most towns have paved or dirt runways for private planes. (See Navojoa Airport)

Tourism

Sonora is a premier tourist destination, especially for visitors from neighboring Arizona.

Recently, Sonora has experienced a boom in tourism, especially in the city of Puerto Peñasco, due to its being the nearest beach to many population centers in Arizona.

People

• Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta
• Abelardo L. Rodríguez
• Álvaro Obregón
• Plutarco Elías Calles
• Adolfo de la Huerta
• Manlio Fabio Beltrones
• Silvia Pinal
• Ramón Corral
• Jesús García Corona "Héroe de Nacozari"
• José María Leyva "El Indio Cajeme"
• Ana Gabriela Guevara
• Julio César Chávez
• María Félix
• Félix María Zuloaga
• Fernando Valenzuela

In Fiction

• In the Harry Turtledove novel How Few Remain, Sonora is annexed into a fictional Confederate States of America in the 1880s. In all eleven novels of the timeline-191 series, Sonora functions as part of the Confederacy.
• Fighting video game Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior is set in a fictional town in Sonora named Glasshill (the English name is due to its location being at the country border, even though it seems to lead out into the Sea of Cortez).

External links

• Sonora State Government
• Sonora Tourism run by the State
• Sonora Investment Information

Notes