Cananea, Sonora Tour

If you are a history buff, a geology nut, love the heavens or are just an architectural groupie, this tour is for you!

The city of Cananea, Sonora has approximately 35,000 residents, and is an important economic location in Northern Sonora. The city is located about an hour’s drive from the international border crossing at Naco, Sonora.

Former Sonora governor General Ignacio Pesquiera retired to Cananea in the 1860’s, at a time when the area was experiencing Apache raids. He discovered some old, abandoned Spanish mines in the area and re-opened the mines to resume the extraction of copper.

In 1889 Pesquiera sold the mines to William Cornell Greene, who then founded the Nogales, Sonora-based Cananea Consolidated Copper Company.

The operation and history of the Cananea copper mine are fascinating. It is the third-largest copper mine in the world. The miners’ strike of 1906-07 at William C. Greene’s Consolidated Copper Company was one of the key sparks that exploded into the Mexican Revolution in 1910.

Tour participants must wear long pants and solid shoes to be able to participate in the mine tour. If you wear your sandals, you will not be able to participate.

In addition to the mine tour, the Cananea tour includes a nighttime observatory tour and stargazing, a visit to the Greene Mansion and grounds, and a tour of the Cananea Nature Park and Reserve.

The tour departs from Nogales and Sierra Vista, and is an overnighter.

Read more about Cananea.