Location: Chihuahua Map
The Copper Canyon or the Copper Canyon is called the system
consisting of seven ravines. Located in the Sierra Tarahumara in the
southwest of the Mexican state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The canyon
system is four times larger in extension (60,000 km²) and almost
twice as deep as the
Grand
Canyon of Colorado river in Arizona, in the United States of
America. It is home to the indigenous Rarámuris or Tarahumaras.
Copper Canyon gets its name from a green color walls that look like
a copper, thus the name. It is a popular destination for many nature
lovers. You can explore Copper Canyon by hiking, camping, biking,
driving and even take a local horse on a ride through the region.
The Copper Canyon (as they are called locally) are crossed by
the Chihuahua to the Pacific train route, known as "el Chepe". In
the section Divisadero-Los Mochis, the train goes into the mountain
to cross the rugged geography, passes cliffs precipitous, crosses 86
impressive short and long tunnels, and 37 spectacular bridges that
plow rivers. This is an important transportation system and a
tourist attraction. Today it can be reached by road from the city of
Chihuahua, approximately in five hours, and penetrate the ravines
through rural roads. Flying over them in a helicopter offers a
spectacular aerial view.
History
The Copper canyon is the traditional
home of the Tarahumara (Rarámuris, the name with which they
identify). Legend has it that the ravines of the Sierra Tarahumara
were formed during the creation of the world, when the stones still
did not curdle and were malleable. The metaphor refers to a tectonic
event that more than 20 million years ago gave rise to this
spectacular network of canyons over an area of 60,000 km². The
system owes its name to a glen famous for its copper mines, but
there are many that occur along 600 km length.
Among the most
important canyons are: Urique, the deepest in Mexico (1,879 m); La
Sinforosa, on whose slopes fall the waterfalls Rosalinda and San
Ignacio; Batopilas (declared a Magic Town on October 19, 2012 by the
government of the republic), where some of the most traditional
Tarahumara communities live; Candameña, where Piedra Bolada and
Baseaseachi are located, the two highest waterfalls in Mexico, and
the El Gigante rock, a rock 885 m high; Huapoca, which houses
archeological sites of the Paquimé culture, and Chínipas, one of the
lesser-known ones, at the bottom of which sits the oldest mission of
the Sierra Tarahumara.
Waterfalls
The area known as the Casase de
Basaseachi National Park, has the waterfall of the same name and
Piedra Volada, with falls of 270 m and 500 m, respectively. Legend
has it that Basaseachi was the daughter of King Candameña who ruled
the High Sierra Tarahumara. She was very beautiful and in
marriageable age several people pretended to him, for that reason,
his father requested great and difficult tests that none succeeded
and died, resulting that the inconsolable girl, jumped into the
void. Then a sorcerer from the community made the fall the waterfall
that we admire today. You can find vegetation and diverse animals,
there are walks on foot and by bicycle, even lodging.
Chepe
train
The train to the Pacific Chihuahua - «Chepe» - is the only
railway that has been international in its vision since its
inception. The railroad crosses some of the most rugged terrain in
Mexico, hugging the edge of mountains and crossing deep ravines and
ravines on its bridges. The stage is truly impressive. The trip in
the first class express takes around 4 hours. This is a spectacular
journey and it is really worth doing it, but you must book early.
The tourist stations through which the train passes, starting from
Chihuahua, are: Cuauhtémoc, Creel, Divisadero, Posada Barrancas,
Bauichivo, Temoris, El Fuerte, Los Mochis.
The weather in the
Copper Canyon depends on the season of the year. In the upper part
of the canyon the climate is alpine, warm and humid in the summer,
cold and cool in the winter. The temperature at this height is
between -22 ° C and 30 ° C. Meanwhile, in the bottom of the Copper
canyon the climate is subtropical, hot and humid in the summer, and
warm and dry in the winter. The temperature ranges between -12 ° C
and 44 ° C. the oldest mission in the Sierra Tarahumara.