51 Chihuahua, Mexico Facts: History, Culture, And More

Chihuahua is located on the border between the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico.

Chihuahua is known to border the Mexican states of Sonora, Durango, Coahuila, and Sinaloa. Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico with an area of 95,543 sq mi (247455.23 sq km), and the state is nicknamed 'El Estado Grande'.

Chihuahua, being a border state, has a lot of visitors and travelers from all around the world and is mostly known for its beautiful landscape and its handicrafts. Chihuahua is Mexico's eleventh most populous state with a population of 2,440,688 people.

Chihuahua City is the capital city of Mexico, but the most populous city of Chihuahua is Ciudad Juarez. In 1824, Chihuahua was first given the status of a Mexican state.

Most of the native people in the state live near the Conchos River Valley and the Rio Grande Valley. The state's terrain is known to be dry, rough, and mountainous.

As the Mexican state has plains, mountains, and even deserts, Chihuahua experiences different climates. About one-third of the landscape of Chihuahua is covered by the Sierra Madre Occidental range, and the highest point of this mountain range is Cerro Mohinora.

Cerro Mohinora is an extinct volcano. Although the state is covered mostly by mountains, in this mountain range, there are valleys of coniferous forests making the state one of the go-to places for the country's wood requirements.

The mountains of Chihuahua also have many minerals in them, making the place an important location for the mining industry within the state.

At the foot of the mountains, the plains begin and are located between the Sierra Madre Occidental and the desert region.

The desert is also one-third of the state's total area, and the Chihuahuan desert is part of the landscape of Durango and Coahuila, along with parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It is the second-largest desert in North America and Chihuahua's largest city, Ciudad Juarez, lies here.

Facts About Chihuahua, Mexico

Here are some facts about Chihuahua, Mexico, one of the greatest states in the nation.

• Chihuahua is officially known as the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua. In Spanish, the state is known as Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua.
• The meaning and origin of the name have long been disputed by historians and linguists.
• The most widely accepted hypothesis states that the name Chihuahua was derived from the Nahuatl language indicating 'the place where the water of the rivers meets.'
• Chihuahua is part of the 31 states of Mexico. Chihuahua, along with the other states and Mexico City, comprises the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico.
• The capital city of Chihuahua is Chihuahua city and is one of the most important places in the nation.
• Chihuahua City was actually named San Felipe el Real de Chihuahua originally, while today it is lovingly called Lady of the Desert.
• The capital city was founded in 1709 and since then, the city has housed a mixture of modern industry and colonial architecture.
• The city is shaped like an L. It is located in a mountain valley and small mountains are seen running through the city from north to south.
• Hilly and rough terrain are seen outside the perimeter of the city.
• The state of Chihuahua is the largest state in the nation by area with a size of 95,543 sq mi (247455.23 sq km).
• The state is even a little larger than the total area of the United Kingdom. The large area of the state has made people call it El Estado Grande (The Big State).
• Chihuahua is identified by most people in the world by the Chihuahuan Desert.
• But it is fascinating to know that the state has more forests than any of the other states of Mexico. However, there is an exception. Only Durango has more forests than Chihuahua.
• Due to different climates in the state, Chihuahua is known to have a lot of flora and fauna.
• Obviously, the state includes rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys.
• The famous Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain Range is actually an extension of the Rocky Mountains and constitutes most of the terrain in the state.
• It is home to the greatest attraction in the state called Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon.
• The Copper Canyon is said to be deeper and larger than even the Grand Canyon.
• Near the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc, and Parral which is located on the slope of the Sierre Madre Occidental Mountain Range, you will find a large deposit of short yellow grass.
• This is a large source of agricultural production in the state.
• You will find most people in the state living in the Rio Grande Valley and the Conchos River Valley.
• Who would not want to live in this state, home of the Copper Canyon that's even bigger than the great Grand Canyon?
• The Chihuahuan Desert is considered to be the most diverse desert in the world.
• There are even endemic species found in the state and in the desert.
• However, the region has now degraded, and over time, the native species of flora have been substituted with creosote shrubs.
• Mohave rattlesnakes, coyotes, swift foxes, bats, and jackrabbits are found in the desert area, while Mexican wolves, white-tailed deer, cougars, rock rattlesnakes, and North American porcupines are found in the mountains of the state.
• As the state is quite near to the U.S. border, there are a lot of travelers, mainly to the main city of Chihuahua City.
• Adventurers from all over the world are attracted to the unique terrain of the state as it has everything from hiking, camping, river kayaking, rappelling, and even hunting.
• There are also archaeological sites in the state to visit, such as Paquime or the hills to hike through the rough terrain. There are many things to do in Chihuahua.
• The traditional culture of the indigenous population of the state is also something to be explored.
• The city of Chihuahua also has sites like the Government Palace, Temple of San Francisco, El Palomar Central Park, the Chihuahua Cathedral, the Church of Santa Rita, and the Museum of Religious Art for tourists to explore.
• A series of caves called Grutas de Nombre de Dios is something for the eco-adventurers to explore. This site is known for its stalactites and stalagmites.
• Parral is another city in Chihuahua and is known for its European charm and style.
• Parral is quite close to the capital city, and the culture and architecture of the city are similar to that of Chihuahua city.
• There are many attractions in the city that people love.
• Copper Canyon is a group of six canyons in the state located in Northern Mexico.
• It is mostly thronged by visitors as it is Mexico's answer to the ever-popular Grand Canyon.
• The Federal Palace is famous for its dancing fountains with the light and water show.

Chihuahua's History

Chihuahua is located in northwestern Mexico, is covered by Sonora in the west, Durango in the south, Sinaloa in the southwest, and Coahuila in the east.

• Chihuahua was actually inhabited by seminomadic and nomadic indigenous groups at first.
• After Spanish explorers arrived in the mid 16th century, several centuries went by as the local people fought with the colonists for the land.
• It was the Spanish who established silver mines in the area, which made the state a center for trading.
• The Nueva Vizcaya Province constituted both Chihuahua and Durango, and they remained together until the independence of the country in 1823.
• Simon Elias Gonzalez was the first person to be elected governor under the new constitution in 1825.
• Jose Antonio Arce became the second governor of Chihuahua.
• When Gonzalez's term on the west coast was over, he became the Commandant General of Chihuahua in 1829.
• During the Mexican Revolution, the state of Chihuahua was a central battleground.
• During the Mexican Revolution, the revolutionary leader, Francisco Villa (Pancho) fought throughout the state and demanded that the poor peasants of the nation be made legitimate participants in the politics of Mexico.
• He also demanded land for the peasants.
• Villa actually formed his famous Northern Division in Chihuahua, and after the revolution, Chihuahua remained an influential part of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
• Due to its close proximity to the U.S., Chihuahua is extremely important to the nation of Mexico.
• During PRI rule, the state was central to the oldest and most important opposition party.
• There are many historic buildings in the city of Chihuahua, like Chihuahua Cathedral (Catedral de Chihuahua) made in the Baroque style, Gameros Country Estates (La Quinta Gameros), and the Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno).
• Copper Canyon is also just a train ride away. Copper Canyon is said to be even bigger than Grand Canyon.
• The Government Palace has a mural by Pina that honors the liberators Benito Juarez, Abraham Lincoln, and Simon Bolivar Museo Casa Juarez.
• Museo Casa Juárez in downtown Chihuahua city is a 19th-century building that actually served as the de facto National Palace of Mexico.
• The Aztecs could never conquer the Tarahumara-the indigenous people of Chihuahua.
• Chihuahua is often deemed unsafe due to the high crime rate.

Chihuahua's Culture

Chihuahua was formed by indigenous groups with customs and traditions that go way back.

• Full of indigenous people and settlers, Chihuahua has always had a rich culture.
• Most of the people speak Spanish and most indigenous people are Tarahumara.
• Agriculture is important for the people of the state.
• Chihuahua is full of sugar cane, oats, potatoes, wheat, cotton, corn, sorghum, peaches, melons, nuts, apples, peanuts, soy, alfalfa, and green chilies.
• Art, culture, and education are also very important, along with many important architectures in the state like el Teatro de Camara del Instituto de Bellas Artes and el Teatro de Héroes.
• Due to the different sites of foreign manufacturing plants in the region, the industrial economy of the state grew, and many big companies arrived in the country to take a piece of the pie.
• It is fascinating to know that the Chihuahua Pacifico Railway crossed over 37 bridges and 86 tunnels attitudes of up to 8,000 ft (2438.4 m) above sea level in the Sierra Tarahumara region.
• If not for anything else, a ride on this train calls for visiting this country to check out the magnificent construction in the state.
• Sports also hold importance as the state has its own basketball team, Los Dorados de Chihuahua.
• Bullfighting is also a major sport in the region.
• Famous food in Chihuahua includes chile pasilla con queso and empanadas de Santa Rita.