Mexico's Copper Canyon the Adventure of a Lifetime

By Dick I.

The Copper Canyon isn't a single canyon but rather a series of massive interconnected gorges totaling more than 25,000 square miles.

The canyons are 1.5 times deeper and cover four times the area of Arizona's Grand Canyon. This is where the U.S. Army hunted Pancho Villa for ten years without success.

Six of the major canyons in the system are:

Urique Canyon 6,136 ft. deep

Sinforosa Canyon 5,904 ft. deep

Copper Canyon 5,770 ft. deep

Tararecua Canyon 4,674 ft. deep

Batopilas Canyon 5,904 ft. deep

Oteros Canyon 3,225 ft. deep

Pine, oak, pinon, juniper and madrono tress are found in the heights of the canyon. Tropical vegetation, bananas, mango, avocados and citrus trees thrive at the bottom of the canyon.

The Copper Canyon is home to nearly 300 species of birds, nearly 100 species of reptiles, deer, bears and large cats.

It is the ancestral home to the private, self - sufficient Tarahumara Indians, perhaps the most primitive Indian tribe in North America. In the winter they live in caves and in summer, small log cabins.

Visitors to the Copper Canyon are overwhelmed and express their feelings saying: "There's a National Geographic photo around every corner", and "this makes the Grand Canyon look like a pothole."

One of the best ways to view the Copper Canyon is by train. Many RVer's were able to take the "Piggyback Train." The RV's were loaded on flatbed railroad cars and from the comfort of their RV's they enjoyed the magnificent sights. Sadly the Piggyback has been discontinued.

You can still take the passenger train, Chihuahua - al Pacifico Railroad, which was 90 years in the making. RVer's have several choices of campgrounds where they can leave the RV.

The train runs every day between Chihuahua in the north and Los Mochias by the Sea of Cortes. The ride is some 300 miles through the western Sierra Madre mountain range.

Your adventure will take you through some 86 tunnels, the longest being 5,966 ft., over one mile, and over 37 bridges, the longest being 1,635.5 ft when crossing the Rio Fuerte and with Chinipas Bridge the highest at 335 ft.