[1] Originally this territory was inhabited by the Opata Joba Indians; in 1627 the Jesuit missionary Pedro Méndez established Mission San Ignacio Bacanora.
The fauna in the region is still relatively numerous with deer, puma, owls, coyote, jaguar, lynx, raccoons, skunks, eagles, to name a few, present.
Agave is planted to produce the regionally famous Aguardiente de Bacanora.
There is a tarmacked road linking Bacanora with the state capital Hermosillo, which lies at a distance of 181 km.
In the village the main tourist attraction is the mission church of San Ignacio de Loyola, built in the seventeenth century.