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Exploring the Copper Canyon
by Ron Mader
Para mí sólo recorrer los caminos que tienen
corazón, cualquier camino que tenga corazón. (I only
trek the paths that have heart, whatever path that has heart.)
- Mexico
Notebook |
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| For outdoor enthusiasts, the region offers hiking,
bird watching, mountain biking and horseback riding. The individual
Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) is just one of more than 20 canyons
that stretch west of Chihuahua
City in the Sierra Madre Occidental, located between the high
central plateau and the Sea
of Cortez.
The surrounding peaks are covered with pine and oak forest and
reach 2,370 meters. The mountains here are also known as the Sierra
Tarahumara. |
GEOGRAPHY
You'll find a variety of climates. It can snow in the mountains
while tropical temperatures reign in the valleys.
The average altitude here is 2,275 meters above sea level, while
the highest point, Cerro del Mohinora, is 3,306 meters and the lowest
point, at the confluence of the Septentrion and Chinipas Rivers,
is around 220 meters. Note that the average rainfall in Copper Canyon
is close to 15 inches per year. Most of the rainfall takes place
during the months of July, August and September.
To journey into this rugged and isolated terrain with knowledge
of its spectacular biodiversity and history is one of Mexico's best
adventures. Carl Lumholtz explored the Sierra Madre and the Barranca
de Sinforosa in 1892, and his well-documented adventures have inspired
generations of canyon enthusiasts.
A trip into the canyons and the Sierra requires a good base of
operations, such as the town of Creel,
most travelers' hub of choice. Multiple-day treks are arranged by
many of the hotels in Creel, though you can find independent guide
services in any of the towns by asking hotel owners or visitors.
There are numerous towns along the railroad
and in the valley including Batopilas, Cusárare, Divisadero,
Bauchivo and Cerocahui. |
CANYON HISTORY
The barrancas are one of Mexico's youngest geological formations
and the largest in North America. They were formed about 30-40 million
years ago, during a period of intense volcanic activity in what
is present day Northwestern Mexico. Thousands of volcanoes erupted,
throwing lava and ash onto the surrounding plateau and creating
the Sierra Madre Occidental.
The tectonic activity also created deep fractures in the earth's
crust. Because the rocks are relatively soft, the rivers originating
in the high Sierra cut deep canyons on their descent to the Gulf
of Mexico. The canyons bear the names of these powerful rivers:
Chinipas, Candameña, Urique, Tararecua, Batopilas and Verdes. |
FLORA AND FAUNA
The Sierra is one of the most biologically rich areas in Mexico.
One reason is that there are two distinct environmental climates
- one in the mountains and on the plateaus, and a different one
at the bottom of the canyons. This terrain includes snow-covered
mountain peaks and subtropical forests in the canyons.
The canyons are home to 290 recorded bird species, 24 endemic and
ten in danger of extinction, including the military macaw (Ara milittaris),
the thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha), and the eared
trogon (Euptilotis noxenus).
Almost a third of Mexico's land mammals are found in the region,
including the black bear (Ursus americanus), the puma (Felis concolor),
and the Mexican wolf (Canis Lutus baileyi), which is in danger of
extinction. Hunting has claimed many species. The grizzly bear is
extinct and the wild turkey and deer are now rarely seen.
More than 3,500 vascular plants are found in the region. Among them
are tropical and temperate species as well as hundreds of endemic
species, including at least 60 wild relatives of major crops and
more than 400 wild medicinal plants, an irreplaceable genetic legacy.
Most of these endemic plant species may be endangered by logging
and overgrazing. Ironically, ethnobotanists now estimate that the
forests are more valuable as extractive reserves for medicinal plants
than for timber. The chuchupate plant, used as a blood thinner in
both traditional and modern medicine, is worth thousands of dollars
per acre in virgin pine forest, but it is sparse in most of the
Sierra due to overharvesting and deforestation.
Mixed forests of Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir are found above
2,000 meters (6,500 feet), while juniper, piñon, and live
oak are found at lower elevations from 500 to 1,500 meters (1,640
to 4,900 feet). Biologists have counted 15 species of pine and 25
of oak.
Unfortunately, the forests within the Sierra Tarahumara have been
commercially logged for 100 years. The logging has been selective,
and in many cases, the worst trees have been left in areas to regenerate
new forest.
URIQUE CANYON
Urique
Canyon is the deepest canyon in North America, and home to a
Tarahumara settlement. Founded in 1690 along the banks of the meandering
river, Urique was totally isolated until connected by a switchback
mountain road in 1975. |
SIERRA MADRE ALLIANCE
Copper Canyon does not have federal status as a national park or
as a biosphere reserve, but plans and studies are underway. In February
1996, Mexico's Environmental Secretariat (SEMARNAP) announced its
intention to form a 2.2 million-acre biosphere reserve in the Sierra.
The Chihuahua City–based Sierra
Madre Alliance will be responsible for planning approximately
750,000 acres of this reserve in the upper Río Fuerte watershed
in the Sierra Tarahumara.
Randall Gingrich, Edwin Bustillos, and indigenous leaders from the
Sierra formed the Sierra Madre Alliance in 1992. The mission of
the Sierra Madre program is to return control of the forests to
traditional indigenous communities and to facilitate sustainable
ecosystem management.
The program supports indigenous communities suffering loss of land,
destruction of forests, and human rights abuses in a region acknowledged
to host the greatest biological diversity in North America. Tropical
and temperate species intermix in a spectacular labyrinth of pine-forested
highlands and tropical canyons. The native Tarahumara and Tepehuan
are among the poorest and most traditional subsistence farmers in
North America. Conservation,
sustainable agriculture, and defense of basic human rights are inseparable
for cultural survival.
We first featured the alliance in a 1999
Profile. For up-to-date info, consult their website. |
VISITING?
LOCATION - The Copper Canyon is located in
the state of Chihuahua.
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| TRANSPORTATION
- The canyon is accessible from the Chihuahua
al Pacífico Railroad, the end points being Los
Mochis, Sinaloa and Chihuahua
City, Chihuahua. From Chihuahua, you can take the train or bus
to the town of Creel, which is the easiest hub for exploration of
Copper Canyon country. Other towns on the railroad are developing
tourism as well, particularly Divisidero, Bauchivo and Cerocahui. |
NAME |
DEPTH (METERS/FEET) |
NEARBY TOWNS |
Urique |
1,870/6,135 |
Urique and Batopilas |
Sinforosa |
1,830/6,000 |
Guachochi and Batopilas |
Batopilas |
1,800/5,900 |
Batopilas |
Candameña |
1,640/5,380 |
Ocampo and Uruachi |
Chinipas |
1,600/5,250 |
Chinipas |
Oteros |
1,520/4,990 |
Maguarichi and Uruachi |
Copper |
1,300/4,265 |
Urique, Guachochi, and Bocoyna |
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