Copper Canyon
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Photo
by Ron Mears |
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on the image for larger version |
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If you are not going to take the train both ways on separate
days you should probably choose Los Mochis as your point of departure
for the train ride. I doubt if you would be disappointed with either
route, but the mountain views you will see on the daylight leg of the
journey are even more interesting than those on the eastern end of the
Sierra Madres. Most people say the best scenery is between Temoris
and Cerocahui on the west. Get to the station an hour early if you
do not have reservations and ask for a seat on the south side of the train
(lado sur). As you can see the passenger cars are quite comfortable.
Depths
(in feet)
of the
Five Deepest Canyons |
| Urique |
6,136 |
| Sinforosa |
6,002 |
| Candaména |
5,775 |
| Copper Canyon (Barranca
del Cobre) |
5,770 |
| Batopilas |
5,904 |
| Grand Canyon |
4,674 |
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When you look at the geography of the region you will
see that the Copper Canyon region is really a maze of over 200 gorges
which in turn form six massive canyons (called barrancas in Spanish).
Much hoo-hah is made about these canyons being larger than the grand canyon,
but this tends to put the wrong expectations in the mind of someone planning
the trip. The Grand Canyon is stark and beautiful. These canyons
are lush with vegetation. They are two distinct natural wonders
and should not really be compared in this fashion. These canyons
were formed by six different rivers, all of which finally combine into
the Rio Fuerte which empties into the Sea of Cortez after it's journey
across the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
To add another dimension to the trip, the entire Sierra
Madre region is inhabited by the gentle, mysterious Tarahumara Indians.
They number approximately 50,000 and are the last free living indigenous
people in North America.
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