Chihuahua
:
Chihuahua is the name of both a state of Mexico and that state's capital city. This article is about the state; for the city, see
Chihuahua, Chihuahua; for the dog breed, see
Chihuahua (dog). For other uses, see
Chihuahua (disambiguation).
The state of
Chihuahua is the largest of the Mexican states and is located in the northwestern part of the country. It has a mainland area of 244,938 km² (about the size of the
United Kingdom). Although it is primarily identified by its large
desert areas, in fact, Chihuahua has more forests than any other Mexican state. On the slope of the
Sierra Madre mountains, (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtemoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, where most of the agricultural production of the state comes from.
The state is named after its capital city,
Chihuahua. The origin of the name is not known for sure, but it is old, predating the
Spanish, and is thought to derive from the
Nahuatl Xicuahua, or "dry, sandy place".
Chihuahua stands on the
U.S.-Mexico border, bounded on the north by the
U.S. states of
Texas and
New Mexico and, to the east of
Ciudad Juárez, by the Río Bravo del Norte (
Rio Grande). The states of
Sonora and
Sinaloa border it on the west,
Durango on the south, and
Coahuila on the east.
As of
1990, there were 2.5 million inhabitants of the state. The largest city is not the capital, Chihuahua, with a half-million inhabitants, but
Ciudad Juárez, with 1.5 million residents (
2004 estimate). The capital was founded in
1709 by
Don Antonio Deza y Ulloa.
Chihuahua's population is predominantly
Mestizo, but it also has one of the largest proportion of white population among the Mexican States (35%). It also includes such minority groups as the indigenous
Tarahumara,
Tepehuanes and
Warojios in the mountainous areas, as well as large rural communities of
Mennonites of German/Dutch origin and Anglo-American
Mormon settlers (primarily in
Colonia Juarez and
Colonia Dublan, near Casas Grandes ).
Chihuahua is known for its production of
apples,
nuts,
timber,
cattle and
dairy products,
sheep, ferrous (
gold,
silver,
lead,
zinc) and nonferrous
metals,
cement and
ceramics. Large assembly plants (also known as
Maquiladoras) geared toward export across the northern border are the dominant industry. The town of
Mata Ortiz is recognized worldwide as the center of a new
pottery movement.
The state also has a large service sector: tourism, banking and high tech enterprises.
One of the most notable features of Chihuahua is the
Barranca del Cobre, or
Copper Canyon, a spectacular canyon system larger and deeper than the
Grand Canyon.
Chihuahua played a pivotal role in the
Mexican Revolution, and was a battleground between revolutionary forces led by
Pancho Villa and federal forces.
Chihuahua is subdivided into 67
municipios (
municipalities)''. See
municipalities of Chihuahua.
*
Secretariat of Industrial Development of Chihuahua State Government *
Chihuahua state government*
OMNIA Chihuahua News *
Page on everything Chihuahua...Puro Chihuahua*
Mexico *
Geography of Mexico
