Ures is a small city and a municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 in the Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 state of Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

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Area

It has an area of 2,618.56 square kilometers. This is 1.41% of the total area of the state, and 0.13 percent of the national area of Mexico. Besides the seat, the most important localities are Guadalupe de Ures, San Pedro, Pueblo de Alamos and El Sauz.

Population

In the year 2000, the total population was 9,553 residents. New figures from 2005 reported 8,420, meaning a considerable decline in population due to immigration. The municipal seat had a population of 3,959 in 2000.

Physical and Geographical Facts

The municipality is in the basin of the Sonora River. As the river crosses the area, the river receives waters from Los Alamos, Bamuco, Nava, San Pedro, Cañada de Agua, and Los Cochis. Also, it receives runoff from washes as El Carrizo, Zuribate, Palo Parado, La Ladrillera, Santiago, and El Pescado. It has a reservoir that was recently built called Teópari.

The municipality is nestled within the mountains, hills, and valleys that form the edge of the Western Sierra Madre. The elevation of the administrative seat was 420 meters above sea level.

Climate

The average maximum monthly temperature is 31.8°C in the month of July, the average minimum monthly temperature is 15.2°C in the month of January, and the overall average temperature is 23.1°C. The annual precipitation is 430.1 millimeters, and the rainiest months are July and August. There are occasional frosts from December to March.

History

Ures is one of the oldest cities of the state of Sonora. It was founded as a mission by the Jesuit missionary Francisco París, and was known as San Miguel de Ures until 1665. At the end of 1838, it became a city; and was the capital of Sonora from 1838 to 1842, and again from 1847 to 1879. Afterwards, it became the seat of a district, until these were abolished in 1917.

In this region there were some notable events, as the Apache insurrection, when Geronimo took refuge in the mountains of this region when generals Crook and Miles fought him in Arizona. The most notable Apache raids were in 1870, when the priest Echevería was killed in the town, and in 1882, when the distinguished scholar Leocadio Salcedo was killed at the La Noria ranch. Residents of the region also had problems with Yaqui uprisings and insurrections of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On September 5, 1998, the state legislature gave it the title of Heroic City, in recognition of its defense by liberals against imperialists in the French Intervention. http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/EMM_sonora

Tourism

In Ures you can visit “La Plaza de Armas(La Plaza de Zaragoza)” with its four 18th century bronze sculptures, San Miguel Mission and the church bearing the same name with its legendary mesquite stairway. In addition, you will see the majestic arch commemorating the Independence and the house where General Pesqueira used to live, The Folkloric Museum, and the old Flour Mill.

Sources Consulted

• Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico
• INEGI National statistics

External links

• Ures, Ayuntamiento Digital (Official Website of Ures, Sonora)