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Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur facts for kids

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Santa Rosalía
City
Santa Rosalía (36157072171) (cropped).jpg
Saint Barbara Church in Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, Mexico.jpg
Derelict Industrial Plant - Santa Rosalia - Baja California Sur - Mexico - 01 (23445414524) (2) (cropped).jpg
View over Harbor from Mesa - Santa Rosalia - Baja California Sur - Mexico (23777896820) (2) (cropped).jpg
Palacio Municipal - Santa Rosalia - Baja California Sur - Mexico (23705517719) (2) (cropped).jpg
Top: view of Santa Rosalía from the Gulf of California; middle: Santa Bárbara Church (left) and Boleo Industrial Plant (right); bottom: view over the Harbor (left) and City Hall (right).
Santa Rosalía is located in Baja California Sur
Santa Rosalía
Santa Rosalía
Location in Baja California Sur
Santa Rosalía is located in Mexico
Santa Rosalía
Santa Rosalía
Location in Mexico
Country  Mexico
State Baja California Sur
Municipality Mulegé
Elevation
59 ft (18 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 14,357
Time zone UTC−7 (Pacific (US Mountain))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (Pacific)

Santa Rosalía is a city in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It is the main town of Mulegé Municipality. The city is located on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula, right next to the Gulf of California. In 2020, about 14,357 people lived there.

The city was started in 1884 by a French company called Compagnie du Boleo. They built the town to support their local copper mines. Today, Santa Rosalía is a popular place for tourists to visit.

History of Santa Rosalía

Iglesia de Santa Bárbara, Santa Rosalía, BCS, México (cropped)
Santa Bárbara Church was designed by famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. It was brought to Mexico in 1897.
Planta eléctrica, El Boleo
The El Boleo copper mines in 1890.
View from Porch of Hotel Frances - Santa Rosalia - Baja California Sur - Mexico (23990719471) (2)
A monument to the Compagnie du Boleo train.
Santa Rosalía (3609487225)
Buildings in Santa Rosalía show French design.

The town of Santa Rosalía is named after Saint Rosalia. However, the original mission is not in the town itself. It is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south, in a place called Mulegé.

Santa Rosalía has a strong French feel, especially in its buildings. The French company, Compagnie du Boleo, started the town in 1884. They mined copper there until 1954. The company built many houses and even brought the metal Santa Bárbara Church to the town.

What makes Santa Rosalía special is that the old mining buildings are still there. They were never taken apart. You can see old locomotives, mining tools, and other machines everywhere. They are like decorations now. The main building of the mining company, called "La Dirección," is now the city hall. Its old offices have become an industrial museum.

El Boleo Copper Mines: Past and Present

The Boleo Mine is a unique place where copper, cobalt, zinc, and manganese were found. These minerals were located in seven large layers underground.

The Compagnie du Boleo, a French company, mined at El Boleo from 1885 until 1954. To keep the town from collapsing when the French left, a Mexican state-owned company took over. They used much of the same old equipment. This government-run mine was never very profitable. It finally closed in the 1980s because the ore was harder to get, and the technology was too old.

New Mining Efforts at El Boleo

A Canadian company, Baja Mining, started looking into the El Boleo mine again. They wanted to reopen it. They believed the mine still held a lot of ore. This ore contained copper, cobalt, and zinc. They also hoped to get manganese as a side product.

In 2010, Baja Mining teamed up with a group of Korean companies to start a big project. However, in 2012, the cost of building the new mine went over budget. Because of this, the Korean group took over most of the project. On January 26, 2015, the new company, Minera y Metalurgica del Boleo, successfully produced its first copper.

A view of the harbor in December 2015.

Geography and Travel

Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur (21048024541)
Tres Vírgenes mountains near Santa Rosalía.

Santa Rosalía is a port city. A regular ferry boat connects it to Guaymas, Sonora. Guaymas is on the other side of the Gulf of California. At the Palo Verde Airport, you can find daily flights from Guaymas. There are also flights twice a week from Hermosillo, Sonora. The city is located along Mexican Federal Highway 1.

Santa Rosalía's Climate

Santa Rosalía is located near the warm waters of the Gulf of California. These waters are much warmer than the Pacific Ocean in winter. This makes Santa Rosalía the northernmost place on the main highway that stays warm all year. Even so, it doesn't get many "snowbirds," which are people who travel south for the winter.

Climate data for Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur (1951–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.0
(93.2)
35.0
(95.0)
35.0
(95.0)
38.0
(100.4)
42.5
(108.5)
46.0
(114.8)
48.0
(118.4)
43.4
(110.1)
42.6
(108.7)
41.5
(106.7)
38.5
(101.3)
33.0
(91.4)
48.0
(118.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 21.0
(69.8)
22.2
(72.0)
24.5
(76.1)
27.5
(81.5)
30.3
(86.5)
33.6
(92.5)
35.4
(95.7)
35.6
(96.1)
34.9
(94.8)
31.6
(88.9)
26.1
(79.0)
21.7
(71.1)
28.7
(83.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 16.5
(61.7)
17.3
(63.1)
19.2
(66.6)
21.8
(71.2)
24.6
(76.3)
28.2
(82.8)
30.4
(86.7)
30.8
(87.4)
30.0
(86.0)
26.6
(79.9)
21.4
(70.5)
17.4
(63.3)
23.7
(74.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 11.9
(53.4)
12.5
(54.5)
13.9
(57.0)
16.2
(61.2)
18.9
(66.0)
22.9
(73.2)
25.3
(77.5)
26.0
(78.8)
25.2
(77.4)
21.6
(70.9)
16.7
(62.1)
13.0
(55.4)
18.7
(65.7)
Record low °C (°F) 3.5
(38.3)
2.5
(36.5)
6.5
(43.7)
9.0
(48.2)
10.0
(50.0)
14.0
(57.2)
15.0
(59.0)
13.0
(55.4)
11.5
(52.7)
11.5
(52.7)
10.0
(50.0)
6.0
(42.8)
2.5
(36.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 8.3
(0.33)
7.2
(0.28)
2.0
(0.08)
0.1
(0.00)
0.1
(0.00)
0.0
(0.0)
5.5
(0.22)
22.9
(0.90)
22.9
(0.90)
13.6
(0.54)
5.5
(0.22)
9.9
(0.39)
98.0
(3.86)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.0 0.8 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 1.5 1.5 0.8 0.6 1.2 8.8
Average relative humidity (%) 60 58 55 50 52 55 58 62 62 58 58 55 57
Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (humidity, 1981–2000)

Population of Santa Rosalía

In 2020, a count of the population showed that 14,357 people lived in Santa Rosalía. Back in 1990, the population was 10,190.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Santa Rosalía (Baja California Sur) para niños

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