Onavas

Onavas is a small town surrounded by its municipal area in the southeast of the Mexican state of Sonora.

Area and Population

The municipal area is 529.48 km² with a population of 479 registered in 2000. INEGI Most of this population lives in the small municipal seat. It is located at an elevation of 180 meters. The municipal population has been decreasing since 1980 when it was 586.

Neighboring Municipalities

Neighboring municipalities are Soyopa to the north, Yécora to the east, Suaqui Grande to the southwest, and San Javier to the west. Onavas is crosses by the Río Yaqui, which rises in Chihuahua and flows into the Pacific Ocean

History

The name Onavas comes from the Cahita language and means salty water.

It was founded in 1622 by two Jesuit missionaries: Diego Vandersipe and Blas Paredes.

Economic Activity

Agriculture covered 2,227 hectares (2000), most of which were not irrigated. Main crops are alfalfa, beans, corn and the production of fodder for the cattle industry. Sonora Turismo

Cattle raising was carried out by sixty percent of the work force (2000) and there were 6,614 head of cattle. Sonora Turismo

References

• Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
• INEGI

External links

• Pueblos de Sonora article on Onavas
• Gobierno de Sonora

Coordinates: 28°27′N 109°31′W / 28.45°N 109.517°W / 28.45; -109.517