Atil, Sonora

Atil (also Átil) is a small town in Atil Municipality in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora. The total area is 400.43 km² and the population of the municipality was 734 in 2005, of whom 699 lived in the municipal seat (2000). Neighboring municipalities are Tubutama, Trincheras, Oquitoa, and Altar.

Atil
Mission San Francisco de Atil
Atil Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 30°50′37″N 111°35′1″W
Country	Mexico
State	Sonora
Municipality	Atil
Founded	1751
Area
• Total	400.43 km2 (154.61 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	612[1]
• Density	672.52/km2 (1,741.8/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Pacific (US Mountain))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (No DST)

History

The first inhabitants were Pima Alto or Nebome Indians, who before conversion had led a nomadic or semi-nomadic life.^{[citation needed]} It is said that Atil means "Arrow Point", in the Pima language.^[2]

The town was founded in 1687^[3] as a Jesuit mission called Los Siete Príncipes del Átil (The Seven Archangels of Átil). It was intermittently a visita of Mission San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama, and had Mission San Antonio Paduano de Oquitoa as a visita.^[4]

Some buildings were constructed by Jesuit missionary Jacobo Sedelmayer.^[5] The name of the mission was changed to San Francisco de Átil when the Franciscans arrived in 1768.

Missionaries

Missionaries stationed in Atil included:^[4]

• Ignaz Pfefferkorn (1756–1762)
• José Haffenrichter (1761–1762)
• Francisco Xavier Villarroya (1763)
• José Neve (1765)
• José Pío Laguna (1765–?)
• José Soler (1768–1774)
• Felipe Guillén (1773–1778)
• José María Espinosa (1773–1775)
• Juan P. Gorgol (1773–1787)
• Tomás Eixarch (1776–1781)
• Félix Gamarra (1777–1779)
• Juan Bautista Llorens (1787–1790)
• Francisco Moyano (1790–1817)
• Clemente Moreno (1789)
• Francisco Antonio Barbastro (1789)
• Pedro Amorós (1796)
• Ramón López (1797–1798)
• José Gómez (1797–1798)

Geography

Atil is one of the smallest municipalities in the state.

The terrain is desert and mostly flat. Summer temperatures average 25.6 °C but daytime extremes are frequently above 40 °C. The winter average is 12.8 °C.

There is one tarmacked road crossing the municipality linking Altar with Tubutama. There are several dirt roads crossing the desert.

Economy

The economy is based primarily on agriculture with lands irrigated by the Cuauhtémoc Reservoir located in the north of the municipality. Cattle raising is also practised.