Where did Copper Canyon get its name?

Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) is a network of canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the northwestern Mexican state of Chihuahua. There are different accounts as to how it got its name:

- The name supposedly came from the greenish-copper color of the canyon's walls.

- The name copper, in reference to the valuable deposits found in the area, is actually a corruption of "cobra", the Spanish word for copperhead snake, which are plentiful in the area.