Copper Canyon is a group of canyons consisting of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The overall canyon system is larger and portions are deeper than the Grand Canyon in neighboring Arizona.[1] The canyons were formed by six rivers which drain the western side of the Sierra Tarahumara (a part of the Sierra Madre Occidental). All six rivers merge into the Rio Fuerte and empty into the Sea of Cortez. The walls of the canyon are a copper/green color which is where the name originates.

The Spanish arrived in the Copper Canyon area in the 17th century and encountered the indigenous Indians for the first time throughout Chihuahua. For the Spanish, Mexico was a new land to explore for gold and silver and also to spread Christianity. The Spanish named the Indians they encountered Tarahumara, which is derived from the word Raramuri, meaning ‘The running people'. During the 17th century, silver was discovered by the Spaniards in the land of the Tarahumara Indians. They were immediately enslaved for mining efforts. There were small uprisings by the Tarahumara, but to little avail. They were eventually forced off of the more desirable lands and up into the canyon cliffs.

Copper Canyon traditional inhabitants are the Tarahumara or Rarámuri. With no official census, the population of the Tarahumara people ranges between 35,000 to 70,000. The Tarahumara reside in the cooler, mountainous regions during the hot summer months and migrate to the canyons in the cooler winter months. Their survival strategies have been to occupy undesirable lands to remain isolated. They cultivate crops of vegetables to supplement their diet between hunting and gathering fruit, berries and seeds. The Tarahumara people are known for their endurance. Living in the canyons, they are forced to travel great vertical distances, which they often do by running nonstop for hours. The Tarahumara people are also hunters and often bag their kill by tapping into their own sheer stamina. They literally chase their prey until it drops from exhaustion. A popular Tarahumara community race called “rarahipa,” is played by kicking a wooden ball along the paths of the steep canyons. All players must run nonstop until the finish. It is not uncommon for a game to last for days and continue without breaks, even through the dark of night.

There are many other ways to explore Copper Canyon such as hiking, biking, driving or horseback riding. The most popular way is by train, as the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico or ChePe, runs along the main canyon called Canyon Urique, between Chihuahua and Los Mochis, on the Gulf of California.