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Sonora
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Sonora
Sonorasōnō'rä, 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.

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Wikipedia search results for: Sonora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico with an area of 182,052 square kilometers, making it around the size of Syria. It is surrounded by the states of Baja California and the Sea of Cortez to the west, Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Arizona to the north. The capital is Hermosillo, other important cities include Ciudad Obregón and Nogales. Although architectural evidence suggests that Sonora had permanent settlements as far back as 1500 B.C., the largest known indigenous groups were the Yaquis and the Mayos, who flourished around 1300 A.D. and established agriculture communities. Both groups were territorial and aggressively defended...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Sonora
Results 1 - 10  of 20
  • Hermosillo

    Hermosillo, city (1990 pop. 406,417), capital of Sonora state, NW Mexico, at the entrance to the gorge of the Sonora River. Hermosillo is a transportation, manufacturing, and agricultural cent...

  • Yaqui

    Yaqui, people of Sonora, Mexico, settled principally along the Yaqui river. Their language is of Uto-Aztecan stock. They engage in weaving and agriculture; many work in the cotton regions of S...

  • Pimería Alta

    Pimería Alta, region in the U.S. Southwest and N Mexico, chiefly in SW Arizona and NW Sonora. It was inhabited by the Pimas and was the scene of the missionary labors of Father Eusebio Kino in...

  • Nogales

    Nogales, city (1990 pop. 19,489), Santa Cruz co., S Ariz. on the Mexican border with its adjacent city, Nogales (1990 pop. 105,873), Sonora, NW Mexico. There are copper, silver, and lead mines...

  • rancheria

    Rancheria, type of communal settlement formerly characteristic of the Yaqui Indians of Sonora, Mexico, and of various small Native American groups of the SW United States, especially in Califo...

  • Cruz, Celia

    Cruz, Celia, 1929–2003, Cuban-American singer, b. Havana. The Queen of Salsa began singing as a teenager, and in 1950 joined Sonora Matancera, Cuba's most popular band. She left Cuba a year af...

  • Oxnam, Garfield Bromley

    Oxnam, Garfield Bromley, 1891–1963, American Methodist bishop, b. Sonora, Calif., grad. Univ. of Southern California (B.A., 1913) and Boston Univ., 1915. He was ordained in 1916. After teachin...

  • Guaymas

    Guaymas, city (1990 pop. 87,484), Sonora state, NW Mexico, on the bay of Guaymas. A port on the Gulf of California, it is also the outlet for Hermosillo. Guaymas stands on a scenic inlet girt ...

  • Huerta, Adolfo de la

    Huerta, Adolfo de la, c.1882–1955, Mexican revolutionist and president (May–Dec., 1920). As governor of Sonora, he broke with President Carranza and declared the secession of the state (1920)....

  • Anza, Juan Bautista de

    Anza, Juan Bautista de, 1735–88, Spanish explorer and official in the Southwest and the far West, reputed founder of San Francisco, b. Mexico. Accompanied by Father F. T. H. Garcés and a small...

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