Puerto Peñasco, Sonora
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Puerto Peñasco Rocky Point |
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 Puerto Peñasco
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| Coordinates: 31°19′00″N 113°32′13″W / 31.31667°N 113.53694°W | ||
| Country |
 Mexico
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| State | Sonora | |
| Founded | 1920s | |
| Municipal Status | 1952 | |
| Government | ||
| • Municipal President | Kiko Munro (2015-2018) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 9,774.45 km2 (3,773.94 sq mi) | |
| Elevation (of seat) | 13 m (43 ft) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 57,342 | |
| • Seat | 56,756 | |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) | |
| Postal code (of seat) | 83550 | |
| Area code(s) | 638 | |
| Website | (Spanish) [1] | |
Puerto Peñasco (O'odham: Geʼe Ṣuidagĭ) is a city located in Puerto Peñasco Municipality in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora, about 100 km from the border with the U.S. state of Arizona. It is located on the small strip of land that joins the Baja California Peninsula with the rest of Mexico. The area is part of the Altar Desert, one of the driest and hottest of the larger Sonora Desert. Because of the lack of water, this area had no permanent settlements until the 1920s. In the 1930s and 1940s, the construction of a rail line connecting Baja to the rest of Mexico passed through and allowed for the development of a permanent town. For most of its history, the area has been associated with fishing, which is still a major source of income. However, since the 1990s, there has been a push to develop the area for tourism, as it is already heavily visited by people from Arizona and California. Puerto Peñasco is often called "Rocky Point" in English, and has been nicknamed "Arizona’s beach" as it is the coast closest to the major cities of Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma, and many Arizonans spend weekends and vacations there.
The city is known by two names, one in English (Rocky Point) and one in Spanish (Puerto Peñasco or “Rocky Port”). In 1826, retired Lt. Robert William Hale Hardy of the British Royal Navy was sailing in this area searching for pearls and precious metals. He named the area Rocky Point and it was identified as Rocky Point on marine maps until President Lázaro Cárdenas changed it to Puerto Punta Peñasco (Port Rocky Point). To simplify pronunciation, the English name lost the word “Port” and the Spanish name dropped “Punta”.
Prior to the 1920s, the area was just one of the safe harbors for wandering fisherman who worked the upper Gulf of California. During fishing seasons, fishermen from Guaymas, Bahía Kino, Puerto Libertad, and Puerto Lobos began to come here to camp out. The main attraction for these fishermen was a fish called totoaba, which was fished not for its meat, but for its use in medicine. At this time the area was known as Punta de Piedra o Punta Peñasco. The name comes from a large quantity of solidified lava that hit the Gulf. Even as early as the 19th century, fishermen from Arizona came here. Since there was no source of drinking water, it was not settled permanently. The first residents are considered to be Victor Estrella, Benjamin Bustamante, Melquiades Palacio, Luis Mercado, Juan Mercado and Tecla Bustamante, the last considered to be the first permanent resident.
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Wikipedia