Puerto Peñasco

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Puerto Peñasco aka Rocky Point
Puerto Peñasco
Coordinates: 31°19′N 113°32′W / 31.317°N 113.533°W / 31.317; -113.533
Country	Mexico
State	Sonora
Municipality	Puerto Peñasco
Founded	1694 (Francisco Eusebio Kino)
Government
- Mayor	Heriberto Renteria Sanchez
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	64,875
- Density	4.59/km2 (11.9/sq mi)
- Demonym	Rocaportense
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code	83550
Area code(s)	638
Website	www.puertopenasco.gob.mx

Puerto Peñasco is a small city within the municipality of the same name, lying in the northwestern part of the state of Sonora, Mexico. Located on the shore of the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortés), the town is known for its fishing and tourism industries. Puerto Peñasco is alternatively known among many of its English-speaking visitors as Rocky Point. Rocky Point actually refers to the area in which Americans first built homes, just outside of town and close to a mountain in the area known as Cholla Bay.

Geography

The city had a 2005 census population of 44,647 inhabitants. The municipality is quite large in geographical extent, and is very sparsely populated outside the city, with an area of 9,774.45 km² (3,773.94 sq mi). The municipality borders the other thinly-populated state municipalities of San Luis R.C., Sonora, Sonoyta, Sonora, and Caborca, Sonora, as well as Yuma County, Arizona in the United States.

The area features wide variations between high and low tides. With the shallowly sloping sea bed, this can lead to dramatic changes in the waterline twice a day. At the eastern beaches, this reveals a rocky reef with abundant sea life.

Demographics

The municipality has a total population of 44,875 (2005); that is, 99.49 percent of the municipality's inhabitants live in the city of Puerto Peñasco, and almost no one lives in its Sonoran Desert hinterland.

Tourism

Puerto Peñasco is also slated for upcoming marina and other boat-related developments as part of the country's 'Escalera Nautica' efforts, which call for a chain of 'tourist-class' marinas sprinkled up and down the Baja coast in an effort to promote nautical tourism.

Puerto Peñasco has two main beach areas. To the west of the Old Port area, there is a wide, flat area known as Sandy Beach. This is the home to several large hotel/resorts, and more are under construction. East of Puerto Peñasco, there is a long coast with several areas, known in parts as La Mirador, Playa del Oro, Las Conchas, and Playa Encanto, an area of beachfront and near-beach condos, homes, and timeshares.

Places of Interest

1. There is a statue of Benito Juarez in a plaza near the beaches.
2. There are at least two SCUBA diving operations in Puerto Peñasco, although the waters near to shore tend to be quite shallow.
3. The Malecon in old Puerto Penasco
4. Cholla Bay
5. The CEDO Nature Center in Las Conchas
6. The Playa Bonita
7. The CET MAR aquarium.
8. The golf course
9. The Pinacate Reserve
10. Manny's Beach Club
11. Bird Island
12. Morua Estuary

Transportation

Puerto Peñasco has an international airport just north of town. It was served by Aeroméxico Connect and it is mainly used for small aircraft. The closest commercial airports are several hours away by car. They exist in Hermosillo, Sonora; Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; or Mexicali, Baja California. A recently constructed highway connects Puerto Penasco with San Luis Rio Colorado and Yuma, Arizona, offering a faster route from Tijuana/San Diego and Los Angeles.

As of 2005, there were a few charter airlines in Phoenix, Arizona, that offered flights to Puerto Peñasco.

Highways

Puerto Peñasco can be reached from the United States via Mexican Federal Highway 8. From the center of Sonora the main route of access is Sonora State Highway 37

Commerce

Puerto Peñasco's fishing zone lies in the Gulf of California, and there has been much concern about growth-related overfishing and the ocean's ability to sustain the town's fishing industry into the future.