Santa Rosalía | |
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The Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, designed by Gustave Eiffel
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Location in Mexico | |
Coordinates: 27°20′20″N 112°16′01″W / 27.33889°N 112.26694°W | |
Country | Mexico |
State | Baja California Sur |
Municipality | Mulegé |
Elevation | 59 ft (18 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• City | 11,765 |
• Urban | 11,765 |
Time zone | MST (UTC−7) |
• Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC−6) |
Santa Rosalía (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsanta rosaˈli.a]) is a city located in Mulegé Municipality of northern Baja California Sur state, Mexico. It is on the Gulf of California coast of the Baja California Peninsula.
Santa Rosalía is a port city, and a regular ferry connects with Guaymas, Sonora, on the other side of the Gulf of California. At the Palo Verde Airport daily flights are available from Guaymas and twice a week from Hermosillo, Sonora. It is located along Mexican Federal Highway 1.
The town was named after Saint Rosalia, although the reason for the name is not quite clear since the Misión de Santa Rosalía is not located by the town, but rather in Mulegé, about 100 km (62 mi) south, and the local parish is devoted to Santa Bárbara.
Santa Rosalía boasts French influence, particularly in its architecture. The French company El Boleo founded the town in 1884 and exploited copper mines there until they closed in 1954. They built houses and installed the metallic Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, which is argued to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Unlike many other mining sites, the industrial facilities which are located in the very middle of the town, were never dismantled. Of particular interest are the reverberatory furnace and the metallurgical converter, although they are currently not accessible by the public due to safety concerns. Old locomotives, mining equipment and machinery are visible everywhere. The main mining company offices (La dirección) have been converted into an industrial museum.