Navojoa

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NAVOJOA
Official seal of NAVOJOA
Seal
Nickname: La Perla del Mayo
NAVOJOA (Mexico)
NAVOJOA
NAVOJOA
Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 27°3′N 109°25′W / 27.05, -109.417
Country Flag of Mexico Mexico
State Sonora
Municipality Navojoa
Founded 1907
Government
 - Municipal president Onésimo Mariscales Delgadillo
Area
 - Total 4,380.69 km² (1,691.4 sq mi)
Elevation 50 m (164 ft)
Population (2005)
 - Total 144,598
 - City 103,312
 - Demonym Navojoense
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
Postal code 85800
Area code(s) 642

Navojoa is the fifth-largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and is situated in the southern part of Sonora, 608 kilometers (360 miles) south of the state's border with the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the administrative seat of a large municipality, located in the Mayo Valley.

Contents

[edit] History

The city name derives from the native Mayo language meaning "Cactus House" ("Navo"= Cactus, "Jova"= House). The valley has been continuously inhabited since pre-Hispanic times by the Mayo people.

In September of 1536, Diego de Guzmán, a Spaniard, became the first known European to reach the valley and the first Jesuit missionaries started settling in the region in 1614. Several geoglyphs from the Mayo tribe can be found along the Mayo River.

Due to the city's distant location from Mexico City, the difficult times of Mexico's independence in the early 1800s were largely absent from the region. However, the city played an important part in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Navojoa is the birthplace of Mexican Revolutionary Álvaro Obregón. Álvaro Obregón became president of Mexico after the revolt and initiated an agricultural revolution in the Mayo/Yaqui Valley, introducing modern agricultural techniques and making this valley one of the most prosperous agricultural regions in Mexico.

[edit] Demographics

Navojoa is the fifth-largest municipality in Sonora (after Hermosillo, Cajeme, Nogales and San Luis Río Colorado) with a population of 144,598.

[edit] Economy

Navojoa is part of the large economic center known as the Mayo Valley, which together with Ciudad Obregón and the Yaqui Valley, form one of the most productive agricultural regions in Mexico.

Although agriculture remains the main source of income, the Navojoa region is increasingly dependent on industrial foreign investment and aquaculture, especially shrimp farming.

Two large swine production companies [1] [2] that export mainly to the USA, Germany and Japan, as well as one brewery belonging to the FEMSA group are among the main industries in Navojoa.

The city gains importance through its geographic diversity featuring close access to coastal, desert, and southwest mountainous areas as well as its close proximity to the United States and the neighboring state of Sinaloa. Navojoa is 64 kilometers (40 miles) south of Ciudad Obregón connected primarily by a toll highway (Mex. 15) that extends north across the state of Sonora to the Arizona border.

[edit] Transportation

Ciudad Obregón International Airport(CEN) is the nearest commercial airport, 48 kilometers (30 miles) north of Navojoa. It receives flights from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, La Paz, Loreto, Los Mochis, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana, and, internationally, from Los Angeles, Tucson, Phoenix and Houston in the United States. Airlines serving this airport include Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Aerolitoral, AeroCalifornia and AeroCalafia.

Alternate Airports to "Aeropuerto Internacional de Ciudad Obregón CEN" (Obregon's Intl. Airport) are Los Mochis, Sinaloa Airport (IATA: LMM) and Hermosillo International Airport (IATA: HMO). These two airports receive low cost airlines' flights incoming from the main cities of the Republic such as : Mexico City DF, Guadalajara, Queretaro, Monterrey and Tijuana.

Navojoa also has a local airport next to the industrial sector, which is suitable for light private planes. It is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) south of the city center.

Several companies offer low, mid and luxury class bus services from Navojoa to the Mexican Republic and international destinations such as Tucson, Phoenix and Los Angeles in the United States. Connections are offered by foreign partner companies to other USA and Canada destinations.

Although Navojoa's streets are completely paved, horse-drawn carts are still used by the residents of the small surrounding communities (San Ignacio, Bacobampo, etc.). Horse carts are numerous enough that there is a parking lot reserved for them in Hidalgo St. near the Bazaar & Market in central Navojoa.

A north-south railroad is in operation, connecting to the Mexican Border in Nogales and to Guadalajara, Jalisco.

[edit] Education

The following institutions of higher education are based in Navojoa:

The main elementary and high schools institutions are:

  • Colegio Bosco/Preparatoria Juan Navarrete y Guerrero
  • Colegio Pestalozzi
  • Colegio Santa Fe
  • Colegio Alvaro Obregón
  • Prepa Tec de Monterrey
  • Secundaria Albert Einstein

[edit] Tourism

The city is near the Gulf of California which offers a variety of beaches. The surrounding country is also popular for hunting ducks, doves and deer. [3]

The Adolfo Ruiz Cortines dam is a popular fishing spot and stores water used for irrigating the valley via the Mayo River. Other uses include kayaking, geoglyph-viewing and other leisure activities.

Las Bocas, 30 miles south of Navojoa, is a small beach community on the Gulf of California that is frequently visited by the local residents of Navojoa during spring. (April-May). It is particularly popular during "Semana Santa" (Holy Week), when campers stay for seven days and then return to Navojoa for Easter celebrations.

Navojoa also acts as a hub for those visiting the colonial town of Álamos, which is 48 kilometers (30 miles) inland toward the mountains of the Sierra Madre.

[edit] Information about the Municipality of Navojoa

The municipality shares its boundaries with Cajeme and Quiriego in the north, with Álamos in the east, with Huatabampo in the southwest and with Etchojoa in the west. Other towns, near the municipal seat are San Ignacio Cohuirimpo, Guadalupe, Guayparin, Tetanchopo, Santa María del Bauraje, Agiabampo, Masiaca, Bacabachi, and Pueblo Viejo.

The region lies in the valley of the Mayo River, which crosses it from the northeast to the southwest.

Transportation through the municipality is carried out by highway, railway, and airplane. Highway Mex 15 crosses the region from the northeast to the southeast. There is also an extensive network of tarmacked roads, connecting the municipal seat with the agricultural communities in the Mayo valley. The railway runs parallel to the national highway crossing the region. There is a regional airport in the municipal seat.

One quarter of the municipality (1,160 km²) is occupied by irrigated agricultural lands, growing wheat, corn, soybeans, and garden vegetables.

There is also large production of swine and poultry. Navojoa produces almost half of the state production in these areas. The cattle herd had over 30,000 head according to the 2000 census. [4]

Industry is modest, although there are one beer factory and a cardboard packing factory.

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Sports

The city of Navojoa has its own baseball team called Mayos de Navojoa which is a member of the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico.

Well-known native baseball players:

[edit] Other famous natives

[edit] References

[edit] External links