Nearest Airport
: Ciudad Obregon
at 107
Kilometres
Nearest Motorway
: Hwy 15
at 50
Kilometres
Nearest Beach
: Huatabampito, Sonora, Mexico
at 100
Kilometres
Nearest Barpub
: La Mansion
at 25
Metres
Nearest Restaurant
: Charisma, Hacienda Los Santos, Tesoros
at 0.1
Kilometres
Alamos is 9 hours drive south of Tucson, AZ on I-19 and Mexico Hwy 15. Then in Navajoa, go east 50km.
Alamos lies in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental. An abrupt change in elevation occurs from the Sea of Cortez (sea level) to Alamos at 1,346 feet to the Sierra de Alamos rising to 6,700 feet continuing on to the Chihuahua border where the elevation reaches 7,500 feet. This actually covers 70 miles as the crow flies.
The Surrounding Area includes the estuaries alive with bird life, Mayo villages, a mining town, rivers where you can take float trips and trails for horseback riding.
HISTORY:
President Zedillo declared 188 structures in the Colonial City of Alamos as National Historic Monuments on November 23, 2000.
The city, founded in 1681, is in position for being considered a United Nations World Heritage Site of which there are fourteen sites in Mexico. Mansions built in the late 1700s, abandoned and then restored after WWII can be toured for a fee that helps Amigos de Educación fund further education for deserving students.
Alamos has been named one of a limited number of 'Pueblos Magicos' in Mexico, a special designation that has brought funds for undergrounding the electric wires.
LANDSCAPE:
As you enter Sonora traveling south from the Arizona border you pass through the richness of the Sonoran Desert. The landscape is dominated by Palo Verdes, Ironwood and huge columnar cacti.
Arriving at the seaport of Guaymas, the Sierra Madre practically touches the Sea of Cortez. From here south along the coastal plain there are extensive agricultural lands supported by the reservoirs created on the Yaqui and Mayo Rivers.
The coastal lowlands are very diverse in plant and animal species. Due to the increase in rainfall and absence of frost, this vegetation is referred to as Matoral. Matoral blends at the coast with dune systems and rich mangrove estuaries making the coast of Sonora rich in natural resources as it meets the Sea of Cortez.
From sea level at Navojoa you turn east and climb thirty five miles to Alamos. As Matoral gives way to foothills at the Sierra Madre, you find yourself entering the Dry Tropics or Tropical Deciduous Forest. The road winds through the more dense vegetation that exhibits flowering trees every month of the year. This forest, with a canopy of ten to twelve meters envelopes the tall columnar cacti, so in the wet season they go unnoticed while in the dry season they appear to dominate the forest. All this makes a picturesque entrance to the colonial town of Alamos.
Alamos lies in the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Along the falda (skirt) of the Sierra the fingers of Tropical Deciduous Forest extend up into oak and pine – this ribbon of Dry Tropical vegetation extends along the foothills into Central America. Alamos lies in the most northern limits of Tropical Deciduous Forest in this hemisphere.
CLIMATE:
The Tropical Deciduous Forest hosts two climates: a dry temperate time from mid October through June and a wet humid tropical time from July through mid October. The months of November through February are salubrious with days in the 80ºs and nights in the 50ºs.
In March the forest drops most of its leaves, the columnar cacti become more prominent like soldiers standing in the forest. In June the humidity builds heralding the coming wet season. On San Juan’s day (June 24) the indigenous people dance and pray to San Juan for rain and blessing of good crops. It almost always rains on this date. The rains are a celebration of life, as the trees burst into leaf, frogs sing and iguanas look for new mates. Monsoon type rains deluge the hills daily. Even though the humidity is high, the temperatures are more stable. The wet season is a time to rejoice.
AIRPORT:
Alamos has its own non-commercial airport with new 5000 ft runway
