El Fuerte, Sinaloa
{{Short description|City in the Mexican state of Sinaloa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = El Fuerte
|nickname =
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|image_skyline = El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Plaza de Armas.JPG
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Constitution Square gazebo
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|image_map =
|mapsize =
|map_caption = Location in Sinaloa
|pushpin_map=Mexico#Mexico Sinaloa
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Mexico##Location in Sinaloa
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Mexico}}
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Sinaloa
|subdivision_type2 = Municipality
|subdivision_name2 = El Fuerte
|government_type =
|leader_title = Mayor
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|population_as_of = 2010
|population_total = 12,566
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|timezone = Mountain Standard Time
|utc_offset = -7
|coordinates = {{coord|26|25|17|N|108|37|12|W|region:MX|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m = 90
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|website = {{URL|http://elfuerte.gob.mx|Government page}}
|footnotes = | module ={{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom= 12 |frame-height=300 | stroke-width=1 |shape-fill-opacity=0.2 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
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El Fuerte ({{IPA|es|el ˈfweɾte|lang|El Fuerte.ogg}}) is a city and El Fuerte Municipality its surrounding municipality in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city population reported in the 2010 census was 12,566 people.
El Fuerte, meaning "The Fort", was given a Pueblo Mágico ("Magical Town") touristic label in 2009, due to its many attractions, its historical importance and its appealing small-town colonial aura.
History
File:Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, El Fuerte, Sinaloa, México.jpg
File:El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Fort, seen from the river.JPG
The city was founded in 1563 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Ibarra, the first European explorer of the lofty Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. In 1610 a fort was built to ward off the fierce Zuaque and Tehueco Native Americans, who constantly harassed the Spaniards. For years, El Fuerte served as the gateway to the vast frontiers of the northern territories of Sonora, Arizona and California, all of which were sparsely populated by unyielding tribes of native amerindians.
For nearly three centuries it was the most important commercial and agricultural center of the vast northwestern region of Mexico. El Fuerte was a chief trading post for silver miners and gold seekers from the Urique and Batopilas mines in the nearby mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental and its branches.{{cn|date=May 2023}}
In 1824, El Fuerte became the capital city of the newly created Mexican state of Sonora y Sinaloa (reaching up deep into modern-day Arizona). It remained the capital for several years until the split of this state into the states of Sinaloa and Sonora.
Tourism
Tourism remains a major industry in town, although it has been diminished in recent years by tourists being wary of Mexican drug cartel violence in other parts of Sinaloa; however, violence declined by 2013 from a high in 2011.{{Cite web
|url=http://isitsafetotraveltomexico.com/|title=Travel to Mexico Resources and Information.|website=isitsafetotraveltomexico.com|access-date=1 May 2023}} El Fuerte has several holidays and local "Fiestas" which are celebrated with pageants, "Ferias" and the like. Several hotels cater to hunters and fishermen, who hunt (deer, boar, wild hog, wild goat, rabbit, armadillo, a variety of snakes) in the foothills or fish in the nearby Rio Fuerte river which runs on the northwest part of the town's commercial district. There are also local petroglyphs a short distance from the downtown. The city also serves as a gateway to the popular Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon) situated in the nearby state of Chihuahua. There are no easily travelled roads to Copper Canyon from west of the Sierra Madre Occidental.
Transportation
=Passenger train=
Many visitors take the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico railway, whose local station is a few miles south of town. The route is on the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad, or ChePe, which passes through the scenic Copper Canyon, from Chihuahua, Chihuahua to the northeast, to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, near the Gulf of California, to the southwest.Mexlist, "PASSENGER TRAIN INFORMATION" http://www.mexlist.com/pass.htm
{{Adjacent stations|system=Ferromex|line1=Chepe Regional|left1=Sufragio|right1=Loreto|line2=Chepe Express|left2=Los Mochis|right2=Bahuichivo-Cerocahui|header3=Former services|system4=Ferronales|line4=El Chepe|left4=Norotes|right4=Ing. Heriberto Valdez}}
=Aviation=
The town is also served by El Fuerte Airport.
Geography
= Climate =
{{Weather box
|location = El Fuerte (1951–2010)
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan record high C = 38.5
|Feb record high C = 39.5
|Mar record high C = 42.0
|Apr record high C = 44.0
|May record high C = 46.0
|Jun record high C = 45.5
|Jul record high C = 45.5
|Aug record high C = 46.0
|Sep record high C = 44.5
|Oct record high C = 44.0
|Nov record high C = 42.0
|Dec record high C = 39.0
|year record high C = 46.0
|Jan high C = 27.7
|Feb high C = 29.2
|Mar high C = 31.6
|Apr high C = 34.8
|May high C = 37.8
|Jun high C = 39.6
|Jul high C = 37.7
|Aug high C = 36.5
|Sep high C = 36.5
|Oct high C = 35.8
|Nov high C = 32.0
|Dec high C = 28.3
|year high C = 34.0
|Jan mean C = 17.6
|Feb mean C = 18.6
|Mar mean C = 20.3
|Apr mean C = 23.2
|May mean C = 26.5
|Jun mean C = 30.8
|Jul mean C = 30.9
|Aug mean C = 30.0
|Sep mean C = 29.6
|Oct mean C = 26.9
|Nov mean C = 21.8
|Dec mean C = 18.2
|year mean C = 24.5
|Jan low C = 7.5
|Feb low C = 8.0
|Mar low C = 9.0
|Apr low C = 11.6
|May low C = 15.2
|Jun low C = 21.9
|Jul low C = 24.1
|Aug low C = 23.5
|Sep low C = 22.8
|Oct low C = 18.1
|Nov low C = 11.5
|Dec low C = 8.1
|year low C = 15.1
|Jan record low C = -3.5
|Feb record low C = -4.5
|Mar record low C = -0.5
|Apr record low C = 2.0
|May record low C = 6.0
|Jun record low C = 10.5
|Jul record low C = 13.0
|Aug record low C = 10.0
|Sep record low C = 15.0
|Oct record low C = 8.0
|Nov record low C = -1.0
|Dec record low C = -5.0
|year record low C = -5.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 28.2
|Feb precipitation mm = 14.7
|Mar precipitation mm = 6.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 2.8
|May precipitation mm = 2.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 33.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 169.5
|Aug precipitation mm = 176.2
|Sep precipitation mm = 103.6
|Oct precipitation mm = 32.3
|Nov precipitation mm = 17.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 26.6
|year precipitation mm = 614.0
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 2.8
|Feb precipitation days = 1.9
|Mar precipitation days = 0.9
|Apr precipitation days = 0.6
|May precipitation days = 0.4
|Jun precipitation days = 3.0
|Jul precipitation days = 13.7
|Aug precipitation days = 12.9
|Sep precipitation days = 7.5
|Oct precipitation days = 2.9
|Nov precipitation days = 1.7
|Dec precipitation days = 2.8
|year precipitation days = 51.1
|source 1 = Servicio Meteorologico Nacional
{{cite web
|url=http://smn.cna.gob.mx/climatologia/Normales5110/NORMAL25023.TXT
|title=Estado de Sinaloa-Estacion: El Fuerte
|work=Normales Climatologicas 1951–2010
|language=Spanish
|publisher=Servicio Meteorologico Nacional
|accessdate=20 April 2015
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111300/http://smn.cna.gob.mx/climatologia/Normales5110/NORMAL25023.TXT
|archivedate=27 April 2015
|url=http://smn.cna.gob.mx/climatologia/Max-Extr/00025/00025023.TXT
|title=Extreme Temperatures and Precipitation for El Fuerte 1955–2010
|publisher=Servicio Meteorológico Nacional
|language=Spanish
|accessdate=20 April 2015
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111209/http://smn.cna.gob.mx/climatologia/Max-Extr/00025/00025023.TXT
|archivedate=27 April 2015
}}
}}
Sister cities
- {{flagicon|United States}} Southlake, Texas, United States{{cite web |url=http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/El%20Fuerte%20Sinaloa,%20Mexico |title=Interactive City Directory |publisher=Sister Cities International |access-date=2016-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118041224/http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/El%20Fuerte%20Sinaloa,%20Mexico |archive-date=2017-01-18 |url-status=dead }}
External links
- [http://www.sinaloa.gob.mx/conociendo/municipios/elfuerte.htm Municipality website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040503212456/http://www.sinaloa.gob.mx/conociendo/municipios/elfuerte.htm |date=3 May 2004 }}
- [http://www.elfuerte.gob.mx/ Municipio: 2021 - 2024]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20111218024438/http://coppercanyonmexico.com/trip-details/el-chepe-the-train/ El Chepe (The Train) « Copper Canyon Travel]
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Category:Populated places in Sinaloa