Ures is a small city and a municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora.
In 2023, Ures was designated a Pueblo Mágico by the Mexican government, recognizing its cultural and historical importance.
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 emigration. The municipal seat had a population of 3,959 in 2000.
Geography 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.
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 in the month of July, the average minimum monthly temperature is in the month of January, and the overall average temperature is . The annual precipitation is , and the rainiest months are July and August. There are occasional frosts from December to March.
Vegetation The vegetation is of mesquite and subtropical desert species.
Communications A paved federal highway crosses the municipality from west to east.
History Ures is one of the oldest cities of the state of Sonora. It was first reported by Cabeza de Vaca on his overland trek from Galveston in the 1530s and was called by him "Corazones", or "Village of Hearts". Coronado stopped there in the course of his 1540 expedition. A mission was founded there in 1644 by the Jesuit missionary Francisco París, and was known as San Miguel de Ures until 1665. In 1823 Ures became the capital of Sonora, but was replaced the following year when Sonora was merged into Occidente State.
At the end of 1838, Ures 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.
During the Fall of the Second Mexican Empire in 1866, the Battle of Guadalupe took place within the municipality of Ures. On September 5, 1998, the state legislature gave it the title of Heroic City, commemorating the liberal defense against imperialists. . 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.
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.
Government Municipal presidents Municipal president Term Political party NotesAdeodato Campbell Quijada1868Fernando M. Araiza 1913–1914Ernesto Estrella1914–1915Victoriano Navarro 1915Alfredo Romo 1916F. J. Morales 1917Constantino Laborín 1920–1922Jesús Casillas 1922–1923Santiago Muñoz 1923–1929Luis S. Navarro 1929–1931PNR Victoriano Navarro 1931PNR Acting municipal presidentLuis Haro 1931–1932PNR Jesús Núñez D. 1932–1933PNR Rafael Puebla 1933PNR Acting municipal presidentMiguel Canizales Bonilla 1933–1935PNR Manuel J. Duarte 1935PNR Acting municipal president Pedro López P. 1935–1937PNR Antonio Arce1937PNR Acting municipal presidentRafael Puebla 1937–1940PNR PRM Anselmo Gándara 1940–1943PRM Reynaldo Paz Molinares 1943–1946PRM Jesús Noriega Calles 1946–1949PRI Alfredo Romo Córdova 1949–1952PRI Rubén Romo Córdova 1952–1955PRI Francisco Amador Torres 1955–1958PRI Antonio Gándara Romo 1958–1961PRI Héctor Maytorena Salcido 1961–1964PRI Moisés Navarro Duarte 1964–1967PRI Francisco Téllez Villaescusa 1967–1970PRI Abel Estrella Bustamante 1970–1973PRI Héctor Romo Córdova 1973–1976PRI Guadalupe Trujillo Romo 1976–1979PRI Óscar Jara Ramírez 1979–1982PRI Eduardo A. de los Reyes Gray 1982–1985PRI Marco Antonio Romo Aguilar 1985–1988PRI Eduardo Salcido Celaya 1988–1991PRI Jorge Alberto Gastélum1991–1994PRI Ramón Mario López Córdova1994–1997 PRI Manuel Ignacio Espinoza González1997–2000PRD Arnoldo Trujillo Fuentes2000–2003PRI Marco Antonio Coronado Acuña16-09-2003–15-09-2006PRI Juan Ángel Córdova Salcido 16-09-2006–15-09-2009PRI Panal Alliance PRI Sonora-PanalNoé Coronado Cha 16-09-2009–15-09-2012PAN José Manuel Valenzuela Salcido16-09-2012–15-09-2015PAN David Gracia Paz16-09-2015–15-09-2018PRI PVEM Panal Coalition "For an Honest and Effective Government"Héctor Gastón Rodríguez Galindo16-09-2018–15-09-2021PAN PRD Coalition "For Sonora to the Front"José Manuel Valenzuela Salcido16-09-2021–15-09-2024Morena Héctor Gastón Rodríguez Galindo16-09-2024–PAN PRI PRD
References
Sources consulted Enciclopedia de los Municipios de Mexico INEGI National statistics
External links Ures, Ayuntamiento Digital (Official Website of Ures, Sonora)