San Luis Río Colorado is a city and also the name of its surrounding municipality in the state of Sonora, Mexico. In the 2020 census, the city had a population of 176,685.[1] The city is the fourth-largest community in the state, and the municipality is also the fourth-largest in terms of population. Lying in the northwestern corner of Sonora, the city marks the state border with Baja California. It also stands on the international border with the United States, adjacent to San Luis, Arizona. It is located about 75 km from Mexicali. The municipality covers an area of 8,412.75 km² (3,248.2 sq mi) in the Sonoran Desert.
History
Before Spanish colonization, the area now known as San Luis Río Colorado was inhabited by the indigenous people of Halywamai who lived in the San Luis Río Colorado region until the mid-19th century, merging with the Maricopa tribe.[2]
San Luis Río Colorado was once an important inland port for steamers traveling the Colorado from the Gulf of California. Since the early 1900s the Colorado has been completely or nearly completely drained for irrigation. The once-formidable Colorado is usually dry or a small stream.
Awarded city status in July 1958, San Luis Río Colorado serves as the administrative center for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The city is located on a mesa, characterized by a flat and sandy terrain.
On Easter Sunday 2010, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the region. The Sears department store (formerly Dorian's) and 5 schools were destroyed, affecting approximately 30,000 people in the region.
San Luis Río Colorado is home to four regional medium-wave radio broadcast stations, among them 1350 XELBL-AM, all of which are popular long-distance reception targets for medium-wave DX radio enthusiasts.
Josse, a Mexican Latin beat singer recorded a song called "San Luis Río Colorado" as a tribute to the river.
Geography
Climate
San Luis Río Colorado has a desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWh), with extremely hot summers and mild winters; it is one of the hottest and driest cities in Mexico. The record high temperature is 52.0 °C (125.6 °F), recorded on 25 June 1951.[3] The record low temperature is −6.5 °C (20.3 °F), recorded on 2 January 1950.[4]
Climate data for San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora (1951–2010, extremes (1950–2010)