Navojoa

Navojoa is the fifth-largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and is situated in the southern part of the state. The city is the administrative seat of Navojoa Municipality, located in the Mayo River Valley.

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 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 19th century were largely absent from the region. However, the city had some importance after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The Mexican Revolutionary Álvaro Obregón was born in Hacienda Siquisiva, a small town near Navojoa. 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.

Navojoa (municipality)

Navojoa Municipality is a municipality in Sonora in north-western Mexico.

Demographics

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

As of 2005 the per capita income for the municipality of Navojoa was $7,915 and the Human Development Index was 0.8251.

Borders

The municipality shares its boundaries with Cajeme Municipality and Quiriego Municipality in the north, with Álamos Municipality in the east, with Huatabampo Municipality in the southwest and with Etchojoa Municipality in the west.

Localities

Other towns, near the municipal seat are San Ignacio Cohuirimpo, Guadalupe, Guayparin, Tetanchopo, Santa María del Bauraje, Agiabampo, Masiaca, Bacabachi, and Pueblo Viejo.

Physical geography

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

Transport

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.