CIUDAD OBREGN

city, southern Sonora state, northwestern Mexico. It lies in the heart of the Yaqui Valley, at 330 feet (100 m) above sea level on the coastal plain, near the Yaqui River. The climate is hot and dry. With the completion in the 1950s of irrigation projects on the Yaqui, vast areas of farmlands have been brought under cultivation, and Ciudad Obregn has become an important commercial centre with modern buildings and streets, an airport, cotton gins, granaries, and packing plants. Cotton is the major crop in the area, but wheat, rice, sesame, and corn (maize) are also important. In one of Mexico's best hunting areas, it is a popular headquarters for duck hunters. The city houses the Regional Technical Institute of Sonora (1955). It is on the main highways and railroads from Mexicali and Nogales to Mexico City. It was named for the Mexican general and president lvaro Obregn, who was born in Sonora. Pop. (1980) 165,572.