Puerto Peñasco

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Puerto Peñasco

[[{{{Map}}}|150px]]
Official Name Puerto Peñasco
Country
 - State:
 - Municipality		 Mexico
Sonora
Puerto Peñasco
Population (2005) 44,875 (2005 census) hab
Altitude 1 200 msl
Coordinates
 - Latitude:
 - Longitude:
31º19'07" N
110º56'45" W
Foundation
 - Foundation:		 1694
Francisco Eusebio Kino
Mayor Heriberto Rentería Sánchez
Political party PRI
Time zone: UTC -7
Demonym Rocaportense
Postal code 83550 -
Area code 638
Website: www.puertopenasco.gob.mx

Puerto Peñasco is a small city and its surrounding municipality of the same name, lying in the northwestern part of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Located on the shore of the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez), the town is known for its fishing and tourism industries. Puerto Peñasco is alternatively known among many of its English-speaking visitors as Rocky Point. The city had a 2005 census population of 44,647 inhabitants. The municipality is quite large in geographical extent, and is very sparsely populated outside the city, with an area of 9,774.45 km² (3,773.94 sq mi) and a total population of only 44,875; that is, 99.49 percent of the municipality's inhabitants live in the city of Puerto Peñasco, and almost no one lives in its Sonoran Desert hinterland. The municipality borders the other thinly-populated state municipalities of San Luis Río Colorado, Plutarco Elías Calles, and Caborca, as well as Yuma County, Arizona in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Tourism

It is a popular destination for tourists, particularly those that reside in the U.S. state of Arizona, for whom it is contains nearest beaches. It is also a popular Spring Break destination with students from Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Puerto Peñasco is located in the 'free zone' where tourists are not required currently to obtain immigration papers in order to visit. However U.S. Border Patrol agents advise that cas of January 2008 a passport will be required to re-enter the United States.

Puerto Peñasco is also slated for upcoming marina and other boat-related developments as part of the country's 'Escalera Nautica' efforts, which call for a chain of 'tourist-class' marinas sprinkled up and down the Baja coast in an effort to promote nautical tourism.

[edit] Beaches

Puerto Peñasco has two main beach areas. To the west of the Old Port area, there is a wide, flat area known as Sandy Beach. This is the home to several large hotel/resorts, and more are under construction. East of Puerto Peñasco, there is a long coast with several areas, known in parts as La Mirador, Playa del Oro and then Las Conchas, an area of beachfront and near-beach condos, homes and timeshares.

[edit] Places of Interest

  1. There is a statue of Benito Juarez in a plaza near the beaches.
  1. There are at least two SCUBA diving operations in Puerto Peñasco although the waters near to shore tend to be quite shallow.

[edit] Transportation

Puerto Peñasco has an airport just north of town. While it does not currently handle commercial airliners, it can be used for small aircraft. The closest commercial airports are several hours away by car. They exist in Hermosillo, Guaymas-San Carlos, Sonora; Tucson, Arizona; or Mexicali, Baja California. Current tourist development plans call for the local airport to be expanded and an international airport opened in 2008. A major highway is currently underway that will connect Puerto Penasco with San Luis Rio Colorado and Yuma, Arizona, offering a faster route from Tijuana/San Diego and Los Angeles.

As of 2005, there were a few charter airlines in Phoenix, Arizona, that offered flights to Puerto Peñasco. Public van service from Phoenix is also offered (as of 2006).

[edit] Tides

The area features wide variations between high and low tides. With the shallowly sloping sea bed, this can lead to dramatic changes in the waterline twice a day. At the eastern beaches, this reveals a rocky reef with abundant sea life.

[edit] Commerce

Puerto Peñasco's fishing zone lies in the Gulf of California, and there has been much concern about growth-related overfishing and the ocean's ability to sustain the town's fishing industry into the future. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Luke Turf, Sea of Cortez: Disappearing Underwater World, Tucson Citizen. available online
  • Sonora Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

[edit] External links

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