Amatlán de Cañas is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and municipal seat in the southwest of the

Mexican state The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

. The population in 2005 was 10,392 (12,088 in 2000) in a total area of 765 km², which made up 2.77% of the surface of the state. The municipal seat had a population of 3,275 in 2005.Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia
/ref> It is bordered on the north by the municipalities of Ahuacatlán and

Ixtlán del Río Ixtlán del Río is both a municipality and municipal seat in the Mexican state of Nayarit. In 2018 the population of the municipality was 33,289 (35,180 in the municipal seat) and the total area was 581.4 km². Ixtlán, as it is known to l ...

; on the east, west, and south by the state of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. (
Map.
') The

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

word Amatlán, “place where there is an abundance of amate and paper”, is composed of the words “Amtl”, tree known as “Ámate and Paper” and “Tlán”, place where there is an abundance of. When the municipality was created the word cañas was incorporated because of the presence of sugar mills (trapiches) in the region. Amatlán is mainly mountainous with 85% of its surface in mountains and 15% in semi-flat areas. There are several peaks with Cerro Alto the highest at 2,080 meters. The municipal seat itself is located at an elevation of 740 meters. The main rivers are the Río Ameca, which forms the boundary between the states of

and

and the Río Amatlán, which rises in the Pajaritos mountains, southeast of

. In 1995 the 12,601 inhabitants made up 1.4% of the total state population; seventeenth place in the state. The population density was 16.5 inhabitants per km²., being one of the least populated in the state. From 1990 to 1995, the total population decreased 4.3%, caused by migratory phenomena towards the United States and the state of

. Most of the population is engaged in agriculture, cattle raising and services. The main agricultural products are maize, beans, peanuts, potatoes, and sorghum. There is also some fruit cultivation: bananas, papaya, plums, avocado and citrus fruits. The cattle herd is small due to the steep elevations. Industry is small and is mainly manufacturing. There is a rice-separation mill, maize grinding mills, small shops and bakeries, as well as small factories of tiles, ice, soap and toasted peanuts.

Tourism

The main tourist attractions are the hot springs in Amatlan (Agua Caliente and Aguas Termales swimming pools), El Manto, the villages of Barranca del Oro, El Rosario, the "mirador" where you can see the view of the whole town; The plazas around the close small towns, Penas juntas, where there's a river and two big rocks between it where you can climb; the new soccer and basketball fields in "La mesita", the malecon around the river to ride motorcycles, stay on the river for camping or take a shower in the water or just a walk around the beautiful town and the church of Jesus Nazareno.

References and external links

Mexico DesconocidoHot Springs Resort
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amatlan de Canas Municipalities of Nayarit Populated places in Nayarit

Tourism

See also

References and external links