Caborca Sonora

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Caborca, Sonora

"Hill with rocks and boulders"

By Dorothy Bell

Fast Facts

Heroica Caborca is the official name

Elevation – 280 meters

Climate – Sonoran Desert (Altar Desert – one of the hottest subsets of the Sonoran Desert) 38 °C from May to October. Frequent Dust Devils or mini-tornadoes.

Population- 60,000 in the city

Industry – Agriculture (wheat, cotton, grapes) Some animal husbandry

Caborca, Sonora

Caborca is the seat of the municipality of the same name. It is a small city with banks, hospital, clinics, university and supplies for your travels.

It also has a few interesting tourist attractions including petroglyphs, Kino Mission Church, Guadalupe Shrine, museum, water park and charming city scapes.

History

The Mogollon occupied the area from 600 BC to 1400AD. The Hohokam Indians were also early inhabitants of the area (300BC to 1400AD) as were the Azasazi (100 BC to 1450 AD)

In 1688 the mission town was founded by Father Francisco Eusebio Kino – the famous Jesuit Missionary and explorer on the spot now called Caborca Viejo (Old Caborca) The town was completed in 1692. 100 years later the town was relocated to it’s current spot on the East bank of the Asunción River.

In 1857 Strongman Ygnacio Pesquiera invited Henery Crabb to gather 1000 colonists to help settle in this area. Pesuirera, who with the local Tohono O'odham warriors was fighting the Federal Government and wanted Crabb and the soon-to-be colonists support.

However plans went astray and Ygnacio Pesquiera and the O'odham warriors defeated the federalists before Crabb and his followers arrived. Political views changed and the American colonists were now viewed and invaders. Pesquiera attacked the Crabb Expedition in April 1857 and killed 25 Americans during the battle (200 Mexicans were killed). Fifty five were later executed by firing squad.

The Americans call the battle the “Crabb Massacre”. The Mexicans have a different view and renamed the town to Heróica Caborca; as they view the battle as defending their country against American invading forces.

Caborca Today

For the traveler Caborca offers a good selection of hotels and restaurants and a few interesting places to visit.

Rancho Puerto Blanco to view the petro glyphs; over 6,000 etchings makes this the greatest concentration of petro glyphs in Latin America.

view of La Purísima Concepción de Caborca through an arch at the entrance Pueblo Viejo to visit the Kino mission church La Purísima Concepción de Nuestra Señora de Caborca. It was first completed in 1693 and has since been damaged due to floods and has been rebuilt many times. Services are held Saturday night. There is also a botanical garden to explore.

El Cerro de la Virgen de Guadalupe is an amazing shrine dedicated to Our lady of Guadalupe only 6KMs (4 miles) outside the city. Pilgrims walk and climb the stairs to worship and give thanks to the Virgin.