Hermosillo

City in Mexico and administrative capital of the state of Sonora in the northwest of the country, situated on the western coastal plain near the confluence of the rivers Sonora and Zanjon; population (2005) 641,800. The city is the commercial and distributive centre of a thriving cattle-rearing and agricultural area that produces maize, wheat, beans, alfalfa, vegetables, and fruit. There is some gold, silver, and copper mining. Hermosillo is a winter tourist resort.

Features The climate is very hot and dry in the summer, but mild in winter. Hermosillo is on the Nogales–Mexico City railway and the Southern Pacific railway. Just outside the city is the Abelardo Rodríguez dam, which is used to irrigate the area. Expanding industries, such as the American Ford assembly plant, attract workers from the surrounding rural areas. The state university is in the city.

Before the Spanish conquest, Hermosillo was the site of a Pima Indian settlement, Pitic, centred on the junction of the Sonora and San Miguel rivers. Hermosillo's Spanish colonial past is reflected in the architecture of many of its buildings, such as the cathedral and palace.