The municipal area is 1,184.86 km2 (457.48 sq mi), with a population of 1,147 registered in 2000.
[1] It was founded as Juan Evangelista de Huachinera in 1645 by the Spanish missionary Cristóbal García.
The land now occupied by the municipality was once the home of the Ópata Indians.
Corn and beans are raised for subsistence while grasses are grown for cattle fodder.
The cattle herd had 15,457 head in 2000,[2] and calves are exported to the United States.