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manufacture from within Sonora. As a result of so much foreign investment,
the state is Mexico’s leading producer of electronic equipment, plastics, and
chemical products.
Most of these factories are focused around Hermosilla, Sonora’s capital.
Although the city is not as close to the U.S. border as other communities, the
city government has worked hard at attracting foreign companies. The city was
first founded in 1700 as a military base for the Spaniards who were battling the
Native Americans, and the old fort still stands at the heart of the city.
Around Hermosilla lies fertile farmland. Irrigation projects have brought water
to the desert land, and wheat, corn, cotton, pecans, oranges, and grapes flourish
under the warm sun. Although the Sonora Desert, the third largest desert in North
America, stretches across much of the state, reclamation projects take advantage of
the state’s Yaqui, Sonora, and Mayo Rivers, opening up still more farmland for use.
Chihuahua
Sonora’s neighbor to the east is the state of Chihuahua, Mexico’s largest state.
To the north, Chihuahua is bordered by New Mexico and Texas. The Río Grande is
Chihuahua’s northeastern boundary line, separating it from the state of Texas.
Ciudad Juárez is the most important city on this boundary line. Like El Paso,
its American sister city across the Río Grande, Juárez has grown in the valley
carved out of the mountains by the great river. Like
Tijuana and other border towns, Juárez sees a lot of
American tourists coming across the border. Other
sections of the city are packed with factories, most
owned by American firms that have relocated in
Mexico to take advantage of the low production
Mexican Facts and Figures
28
The official
language of
Mexico is Spanish,
although many
people speak the native
Nahuatl and Maya languages.