El Fuerte
:
El Fuerte is the name of a Mexican city and municipality, and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bolivia. This article is about the city; for the ruins, see
El Fuerte de Samaipata.
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El Fuerte City Hall |
El Fuerte is a city and its surrounding municipality in the
Mexican state of
Sinaloa. It stands at .
The municipality reported 100,000 inhabitants in the
2000 census, with 30,000 in the city.
The city was founded in 1563 by the
Spanish conquistador Don Francisco de Ibarra, the first 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 native-held territories of
Sonora,
Arizona and
California.
For 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.
In 1824, El Fuerte became the capital of
Sonora y Sinaloa (reaching up into Arizona). It remained so for several years until the dissolution of this state.
*http://www.sinaloa.gob.mx/conociendo/municipios/elfuerte.htm
*http://www.elfuerte.gob.mx/
*http://www.coppercanyonadventures.com/Special_Places_in_the_Copper_Canyon.htm
