Batopilas is a small town, and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, located along the Batopilas River at the bottom of one of the canyons that make up the Copper Canyon. It has a population of fewer than 2,000 people. Batopilas was established by Spanish conquistadores starting in 1632 as a center for silver mining. Over the centuries scores of hugely productive silver mines have been dug in the area; one estimate (Wilson and Panczner) is that mines in the area have produced seven times as much silver as come from the famous silver mine of Kongsberg, Norway. Little mining is now done.
Large fortunes were made, most visibly reflected in a castle-like home that Alexander Robey Shepherd, the last governor of Washington, D.C., had built after leaving the United States in 1875. It stands across the river from the center of the village and has long been in ruins. As of 2006 it is occupied by a number of local families that give tours to visitors for a small fee.
Batoplias is the subject of an extended, discursive, but highly charged conversation between actors Marlon Brando And Alex Montoya in a pulqueria in the 1966 Hollywood movie The Apaloosa.
The main connection to the outside world is a five-hour bus connection to Creel, half of which occurs on an unpaved mountain road.
The road in many spots is only as wide as the vehicle and the view is straight down. Fortunately there were many pullouts because there is a bus once a day that comes from Creel.
The Satevo mission, featuring a large church built four centuries ago with a mysterious past, is 8 kilometers from Batopilas, along the Batopilas River.
