Agua Prieta is a border city in the Mexican state of Sonora, sitting directly across from Douglas, Arizona. The mining industry drove its early growth in the early 1900s, and the town still has the pragmatic, hard-working character of a frontier community built around commerce and cross-border movement.
For travellers heading south into Sonora, Agua Prieta is a common entry point. The border crossing is straightforward, and the city has a reasonable selection of hotels and restaurants. The Panteón Municipal, the historic cemetery, is worth a brief visit for its elaborate Day of the Dead decorations in November. The city's central plaza follows the traditional Mexican pattern and is livelier in the evenings when families gather.
Most visitors treat Agua Prieta as a stop rather than a destination, but Sonora's interior — the copper mines of Nacozari, the colonial city of Alamos, and the spectacular Copper Canyon further south — rewards those who continue.