Archaeological Sites In Zacatecas
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, image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type =
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, subdivision_type1 =
Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, subdivision_name1 =
Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...
, subdivision_type2 =
Municipalities 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 ...
, subdivision_name2 = 58 , established_title =
Admission Admission may refer to: Arts and media * "Admissions" (''CSI: NY''), an episode of ''CSI: NY'' * ''Admissions'' (film), a 2011 short film starring James Cromwell * ''Admission'' (film), a 2013 comedy film * ''Admission'', a 2019 album by Florida s ...
, established_date = December 23, 1823 , established_title2 = Order , established_date2 =
10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...
, founder = , seat_type = , seat = , government_footnotes = , leader_party = , leader_title =
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, leader_name =
David Monreal Ávila David Monreal Ávila (born 22 March 1966) is a Mexican politician affiliated to the National Regeneration Movement. He is the current Governor of Zacatecas. As a member of the Labor Party served as senator of the LXII Legislature of the Mexica ...
, leader_title1 = Senators , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 =
Deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
, leader_name2 = , unit_pref = Metric , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = 75284 , area_land_km2 = , area_water_km2 = , area_water_percent = , area_note = Ranked 8th , elevation_m = , elevation_max_footnotes = , elevation_max_m = 3175 , elevation_max_point = Cerro los Pelones , elevation_max_ft = , elevation_min_m = , elevation_min_ft = , population_footnotes = , population_total = 1,622,138 , population_as_of = 2020 , population_density_km2 = auto , population_density_rank = 25th , population_demonym = Zacatecan , population_note = , population_rank = 25th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type =
Postal codes A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
, postal_code = 98, 99 , area_code_type =
Area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
, area_code = , iso_code = MX-ZAC , blank_name_sec1 =
HDI The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...
, blank_info_sec1 = 0.760 high Ranked 24th , blank_name_sec2 =
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...
, blank_info_sec2 = US$ 5,171,913.8 th , website = , footnotes = a. The state's GDP was 66,200,496 thousand of
pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
in 2008, amount corresponding to 5,171,913.8 thousand of
dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...
, being a dollar worth 12.80 pesos (value of June 3, 2010). Zacatecas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas), is one of the 31 states of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It is divided into 58 municipalities and its capital city is
Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...
. Zacatecas is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of
Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
to the northwest,
Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
to the north,
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 ...
to the west,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
and
Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
to the east, and
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 ...
,
Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
and
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
to the south. The state is best known for its rich deposits of
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
and other
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s, its
colonial architecture Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...
and its importance during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. Its main economic activities are
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
,
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
.


Geography

Zacatecas is located in the center-north of Mexico, and covers an area of 75,284 km2, the tenth-largest state in the country. It borders the states of
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
,
Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
and
Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
and is divided into 58 municipalities and 4,882 towns, cities and other communities. The state has an average altitude of 2230 meters above sea level, with the capital at 2,496 masl. The state has three main geographical regions, the
Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
in the west, the
Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano ( es, Altiplanicie Mexicana), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the US-Mexico border ...
and the
Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
. Most of it is in the Sierra Madre Occidental with highly rugged peaks of over 2,500 meters above sea level. The mountains of the southeast and northeast are lower but there are large valleys such as the Juchipila and Tlaltenango. Most of the territory has only small mesas and other areas of flat land. In the center of the state there is a small mountain chain called the Sierra de Fresnillo, from which much of the state's mineral wealth comes. In the extreme northwest there is another important mountain chain called the Sierra de Sombrerete, marked by a mountain called Sombreretillo, which is an important source of mineral wealth. Near this chain is another called the Sierra de Órganos. No major rivers run through the state and most of the waterways run only during the rainy season. The state is part of two water basins. The southeast of the state belongs to the
Lerma River The Lerma River ( es, Río Lerma) is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near ...
basin, which eventually empties in the Pacific Ocean. Rivers belonging to this basin include the San Pedro, Juchipila, Jerez and Tlaltenango. The other basin is smaller and
endorheic An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
, and does not empty into any ocean. The state has eighty dams with a total capacity of 595,337 million cubic meters. The largest of these are the Leobardo Reynoso in
Fresnillo Fresnillo (/fres'nijo/), founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra, is the second largest city in Zacatecas state, north central Mexico and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich mining ...
, Miguel Aleman in Tepechitlan and El Chique in
Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...
. Much of the state's water is underground divided into twenty hydraulic zones. These are accessed by over 5,800 wells, mostly for agricultural use. Most of the territory has a cool, dry climate, although areas in the south have more moisture, with most rain falling between June and September. The driest and coldest areas are in the northeast, known as the Salado because of its saltwater lakes. 75% of the state is arid or semi-arid. 14% is arable and 79% is suitable for the grazing of livestock. The average annual temperature is 16C with most of the state being temperate. The coldest months are from November to January, with frost not uncommon. The warmest month is June. The state gets an average rainfall of 400mm per year mostly in the summer, with the warmest and wettest part of the state is along the Sierra Madre Occidental. Ecosystems vary depending on relief, soil and temperature, leading to a wide variety of vegetation, including forests, scrub and grasslands. Arid areas are dominated by various species of cactus. In the far south there are deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter and spring. Statewide the most common trees are mesquite, ironwood and palo verde (
Parkinsonia ''Parkinsonia'' , also ''Cercidium'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 12 species that are native to semi-desert regions of Africa and the Americas. The name of the genus honors English apothecary ...
). In the highest altitude, near the Jalisco border, there are mixed forests of pine and holm oak, with the latter dominating along the border with Durango and some along the border with San Luis Potosí. One interesting tree that occurs in Zacatecas is the elephant tree (''
Bursera microphylla ''Bursera microphylla'', known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in genus ''Bursera''. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in ...
''). In the sierras there are many
wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
,
white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
and
hares Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...
; in the valleys and plains it is common to find
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
badgers Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...
,
quails Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...
and
ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
. The extreme northern part of the state is the southern fringe of the
Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
and as such is rich and diverse in biology. This desert is home to a large amount of cacti and is one of the most ecologically diverse deserts on earth.


History

The state name derives from the name of its capital, Zacatecas. This word is derived from Nahuatl and means "where there is abundant zacate (grass)". The state seal depicts the
Cerro de la Bufa Bufa Hill or El Cerro de la Bufa is a hill found east of historic downtown Zacatecas City, Zacatecas, Mexico, of historic and cultural significance in the Zacatecas state. Name The origin of Bufa Hill's name is disputed. What is, perhaps, the b ...
, a landmark of the capital, surrounded by the weapons of the original inhabitants. Above is the motto "Work conquers all." Before the arrival of the Spanish, dominant ethnic groups included the
Caxcan The Caxcan were a partly nomadic indigenous people of Mexico. Under their leader, Tenamaztle, the Caxcan were allied with the Zacatecos against the Spaniards during the Mixtón Rebellion in 1540-42. During the rebellion, they were described as " ...
s,
Zacateco The Zacatecos (or Zacatecas) is the name of an indigenous group, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendan ...
s, and
Guachichil The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Pre-contact, they occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico. The Guachichiles roamed t ...
s, with a probable rivalry between the Guachichils and the Caxcans. The history of these peoples is unclear and it is not known when the first settlements were founded in the region. Between the fourth and tenth centuries in the Christian era, several large settlements developed such as Altavista, Chalchihuites and La Quemada, considered to be part of Greater
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
. Areas in the north of the state, without major settlements, were part of what is called
Aridoamerica Aridoamerica denotes an ecological region spanning Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, defined by the presence of the culturally significant staple foodstuff '' Phaseolus acutifolius'', a drought-resistant bean.Pratt and Nabh ...
, where inhabitants lived off hunting and gathering. The first of the major population centers emerged along the Suchil, Graceros and Guadiana Rivers. The archaeological sites of today are all ceremonial centers and/or observatories in the center of metropolises. The first Spanish settlement in the state's current borders was in what is now Nochistlan in 1531, the original
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
. This settlement was later moved to its current location in Jalisco because of water supply problems and indigenous attacks. The capital was founded by
Juan de Tolosa Juan de Tolosa (c. 1515-before 1594) was a Spanish Basque conquistador. He discovered rich silver deposits near the present day city of Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1546. Early life Juan de Tolosa was born in the sixteenth century in or near Tolosa, Spa ...
with the support of Cristobal de Oñate and
Pedro Almendez Chirinos Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
in 1546, after the discovery of one of the world's richest silver veins. However, shortly afterwards most Spanish attention turned back south because of indigenous uprisings. The area remained dangerous for Spanish settlement because of the fierce opposition of the native peoples. In 1541, an indigenous leader named Tenamextle, also known as Francisco Tenamaztle and Diego the Aztec, rebelled, capturing and executing Spanish leader Miguel de Ibarra. The Spanish defeated the Caxcans during the
Mixtón War The Mixtón War (1540-1542) was a rebellion by the Caxcan people of northwestern Mexico against the Spanish conquerors. The war was named after Mixtón, a hill in Zacatecas which served as an Indigenous stronghold. The Caxcanes Although other ...
in the 1540s. Tenamextle escaped the battle and continued to organize rebellions against the Spanish. However, the Spanish continued to push into Zacatecas because of its silver wealth, making it a province of
New Galicia New Galicia or West Galicia ( pl, Nowa Galicja or ''Galicja Zachodnia'', german: Neugalizien or ''Westgalizien'') was an administrative region of the Habsburg monarchy, constituted from the territory annexed in the course of the Third Partition ...
. Although able to establish mining towns, convoys transporting the metal were regularly attacked. Much of the state's colonial history to the present has been related to its mineral production, especially of silver. The first boom was from the Conquest to the mid 17th century. The riches drew settlers from the south, and in 1586, Phillip II gave the city the name of Noble and Loyal City of Nuestra Señora de los Zacatecas. In 1588, he authorized its coat of arms. Most of the state was evangelized by the Franciscans, who founded a hospice in the city in 1558 and by 1567 had built a large monastery. They officially took possession of its religious functions in 1603. Later other orders arrived, founding monasteries; but they did not evangelize the indigenous. The next boom was in the early 18th century, with the state producing one-fifth of the world's silver. These riches supported the establishment of new settlements along with the building of elegant churches and mansions as the area became one of the most important of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
. During the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
,
Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753  – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
's troops marched through Zacatecas twice, once when they were attacking royalist troops and later when fleeing them. The war ended in 1821 and Zacatecas formally became a state in 1824, with the city of Zacatecas as its capital. Zacatecas continued to grow. The state's history during the rest of the 19th century was tumultuous, as it was in the rest of the country. From Independence until the 1860s, Liberal and Conservative elements occupied the capital at one time or another, until Liberal leader Jesús González Ortega seized control of the state permanently in 1859. This leader's decrees against Conservative sympathizers drove many Catholic priests out of the state. In 1861, French troops occupied Zacatecas but only for two years before being driven out. For the rest of the century, the state was mostly controlled by local strongmen, such as González Ortega, Trinidad García de la Cadena and Genero Codina. The fighting depressed silver production until near the end of the century, but it recovered enough to account for sixty percent of the state's export revenue. At the end of the century, technological innovations such as the
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
, telephone, electricity and rail lines connected the state with the rest of Mexico. Trains provided direct links to
Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju ...
,
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
and Chihuahua, which led to emigration out of the state, primarily to the United States in the 20th century. Zacatecas was again a battleground with the outbreak of the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
in the early 20th century. One of the largest and most decisive battles of this conflict took place outside the capital and is called the Toma de Zacatecas (Taking of Zacatecas). This battle pitted the troops of
Francisco Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''
Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 22 December 1854 – 13 January 1916) was a general in the Mexican Federal Army and 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero wit ...
, resulting in the deaths of 7,000 soldiers and the wounding of 5,000. Civilian casualties were not recorded. The battle led to the naming of the city as a "Ciudad Heroica" (Heroic City). In 1993,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
named the historic center of Zacatecas as a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. From 1998 to 2004, the state undertook a major project to expand the highway system.


Demographics

As of 2020, the state had a population of 1,622,138. Forty-one percent of the population lives in rural areas, with a population density of 18.13 per square kilometer. Fifty-nine percent of the population lives in urban areas such as Fresnillo (pop. 213,139), Guadalupe (159,991), Zacatecas (138,176), Pinos, and
Sombrerete Sombrerete () is a town and municipality located in the northwest of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, bordering the state of Durango. It was founded in 1555 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa as a mining center, due to the wealth that the mine ...
. 94% of the population is Roman Catholic. In the year 2008, Zacatecas had the smallest indigenous population percentage-wise in Mexico: 0.3%. Only the state of
Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
has a smaller number of indigenous people. Only four in 1,000 speak an indigenous language, compared to the national average of 60/1000. Indigenous languages spoken in the state include
Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California, ...
(1000 speakers),
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 ...
(500), Tepehuan (just under 500) and Tlapanec (about 400). The population of Zacatecas has more than tripled in a century; in 1900 its population was 462,190. Since 1990, the state's population has grown by at least 1.3% per year. Average life expectancy is slightly above the national average at 74.1 years for men and 78.5 for women. Principal causes of death are heart problems, malignant tumors and diabetes. The average number of years of schooling is 7.9 (second year of middle school), below the national average of 8.6. 5.9% have had no schooling at all and 66.8% have finished primary school. Only 12.3% have finished university level studies. 6% are illiterate. Of those who leave the state permanently, most go to Aguascalientes, Jalisco and other northern states. Those who come to live in the state arrive from Jalisco, Aguascalientes and nearby northern states. It is estimated that half of the people from Zacatecas do not reside in the state. Mexico's National Population Council estimates that 600,000 natives of Zacatecas now live in the United States, a figure that is equivalent to 40 percent of the state's resident population of 1.5 million.


Economy

As in the past, the state's dominant sector is mining, accounting for 13% of the state's GDP and .9% of the entire country's. The state is rich in mineral wealth include
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and copper with small quantities of gold and silver, along with non-metal mineral deposits such as
kaolinite Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...
,
wollastonite Wollastonite is a calcium inosilicate mineral ( Ca Si O3) that may contain small amounts of iron, magnesium, and manganese substituting for calcium. It is usually white. It forms when impure limestone or dolomite is subjected to high temperature a ...
,
fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs sca ...
and
barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
. The state has fifteen mining districts of which the most important are Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Concepción del Oro, Sombrerete and Chalchihuites, along with Nora de Angeles more recently. Zacatecas accounts for 21% of the country's gold production and 53.2% of its silver. Two of the largest silver mines in the world currently are operated in Zacatecas: former
Peñoles Peñoles is a subsidiary company owned by Grupo BAL. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active mines wit ...
subsidiary
Fresnillo Fresnillo (/fres'nijo/), founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra, is the second largest city in Zacatecas state, north central Mexico and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich mining ...
's
Mina Proaño Mina Proaño, an underground silver mine located in central Mexico, is one of the world's largest and most profitable silver mines. The mine is located just outside the city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas; and is also known as Mina Fresnillo and Fresnil ...
(also known as the Fresnillo Silver Mine), and the Peñasquito Polymetallic Mine. Zacatecas silver mostly accounts for Mexico's status as the world's largest producer of silver, accounting for 17% of the world's output. Zacatecas's economy used to be almost completely centered on mining but has since diversified into cattle raising, agriculture, communications, food processing, tourism and transportation. Zacatecas is Mexico's main producer of beans,
chili peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
,
guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...
s and
nopal Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it is ...
, along with significant grain, sugar cane, grape and peach crops. It is also a major producer of rum,
pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
and
mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. The word ''mezcal'' comes from Nahuatl , which means "oven-cooked agave", from and .What is MezcalElmezcal.org Traditionally the word "m ...
and even produces red wine. These activities account for just over ten percent of the state's GDP. Manufacturing accounts for over twelve percent of the state's GDP and has attracted most of the state's foreign investment. Traditional handcrafts include weaving in Villa Garcia, saddles and jewelry in
Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...
as well as furniture, leatherworking, miniatures,
macramé Macramé is a form of textile produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques. The primary knots of macramé are the square (or reef knot) and forms of "hitching": various combinations of half hitches. It was long crafted by ...
, ironwork and pottery in various locations. Tourism includes the capital along with the designation of "
Pueblos Mágicos The Programa Pueblos Mágicos (; "Magical Towns Programme") is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism, with support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors special experienc ...
" such as Jerez, Teul de Gonzalez Ortega and Sombrerete, along with the shrine of the
Santo Niño de Atocha Holy Infant of Atocha, ''Santo Niño de Atocha'', ''Holy Child of Atocha'', ''Saint Child of Atocha'', or ''Wise Child of Atocha'' is a Roman Catholic image of the Christ Child popular among the Hispanic cultures of Spain, Latin America and t ...
, which is visited by thousands every year. It also includes archeological sites such as
Alta Vista AltaVista was a Web search engine established in 1995. It became one of the most-used early search engines, but lost ground to Google and was purchased by Yahoo! in 2003, which retained the brand, but based all AltaVista searches on its own sear ...
and
La Quemada La Quemada is an archeological site. It is located in the Villanueva Municipality, in the state of Zacatecas, about 56 km south of the city of Zacatecas on Fed 54 Zacatecas– Guadalajara, in Mexico. History Given the distance between La ...
along with thermal springs such as Paraíso Caxcan. Commerce and services accounts for over 53% of the GDP, mostly small scale operations.


Media

Newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
of Zacatecas include: ''El Sol de Zacatecas'', ''La Jornada Zacatecas'', and ''Zacatecas en Imagen.''


Culture, festivals, and traditions

Most of the state's festivities are in honor of local patron saints and many of the secular festivals have links to religious ones. Such festivals often focus on recitals of traditional dances such as the Mexicapan. Many of these are derived from waltzes and polkas because of the state's mining history. The Mexican Revolution took a toll on the state's local musical traditions, but one that has survived is the Tamborazo, especially in Jerez. In the state capital, September 8 is dedicated to the Virgen del Patrocinio on the Cerro de la Bufa, with various cultural and artistic events such as bullfighting, concerts, horse racing and culinary demonstrations. The last week of August is dedicated to the Morismas de Bracho, a theatrical production of the struggle between Moors and Christians. It hosts the International Folklore Festival in August, featuring dance and costumes from around the world. It is held during
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
, and features music, food, street performances, dancing and parties. Other major festivals include the Festival Cultural Zacatecas, the Feria Nacional de Zacatecas and the Internacional Festival de Teatro de Calle, Feria de Primavera de Jerez, the Feria del Libro, and the Cabalgata Turistica Revolucionaria. Traditional favorite foods include
gordita A ''gordita'' () in Mexican cuisine is a dish made with masa and stuffed with cheese, meat, or other fillings. It is similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. ''Gordita'' means "chubby" in Spanish. There are two main variations of this dis ...
s and panecillos, both made from corn and can be sweet or savory, depending on the filling. Wheat breads include panochas and semitas. Condoches are gorditas made with fresh corn cooked in corn husks. Gorditas de cuajada are representative of food on ranches. Meat is most typically prepared as part of a stew to which vegetables such as corn, chickpeas, squash, rice and more are added. One well-known meat preparation is asado de boda, which is pork in a sauce made with mild red chili peppers. Traditional beverages include
pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
,
aguamiel Aguamiel (literally ''agua'' "water" ''miel'' "honey") is the sap of the Mexican maguey plant which is believed to have therapeutic qualities. According to Native American histories, the process of obtaining aguamiel from maguey was first discov ...
,
aguardiente (Spanish), or (Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in I ...
and mezcal as well as a purely local beverage called
colonche Colonche is an alcoholic red coloured drink from Mexico prepared with ''tuna'', the fruits of "nopal" ('' Opuntia'' cacti), especially with ''tuna cardona'', the fruits of '' Opuntia streptacantha''. It is prepared in the states where wild nopa ...
, made by fermenting a cactus fruit.


Archeological sites

Altavista is located 229 km northwest of the city of Zacatecas. It was a ceremonial center, part of the Chalchihuite culture, active between 200 and 1000 CE. It is named after a local ranch, and was explored for the first time at the beginning of the 20th century by Manuel Gamio. Its main building is called the Labyrinth. La Quemada is located fifty km south of the city of Zacatecas, the state's largest pre Hispanic settlement. It developed between 500 and 900 CE and covered an area of over 70,000m2 at its height. Its name, which means "the burnt" comes from evidence that the city was burned and abandoned. Who occupied the city is not known, with speculation relating to Teotihuacan, the Purépecha and the Toltecs. El Teúl is on a large hill overlooking the modern town of Teúl de González Ortega (municipality). The name comes from Nahuatl and means "of the gods." It was a ceremonial center, with residences located north of it. The site is noted for its pit burials as well as the oldest copper smelting facility in Mesoamerica . It was inhabited from 200 CE to 1531, when the Spanish destroyed it. It is one of several religious and population centers created by the Caxcans, who were semi nomadic, along with others in Tlaltenango, Juchipila and Teocaltiche.


Major communities

*
Chalchihuites Chalchihuites is a municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas in northwest Mexico. The archaeological site of Altavista, at Chalchihuites, is located 137 miles to the northwest of the city of Zacatecas and 102 miles southeast of the city of Dur ...
*
Fresnillo Fresnillo (/fres'nijo/), founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra, is the second largest city in Zacatecas state, north central Mexico and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich mining ...
* Guadalupe * Jalpa *
Jerez de García Salinas Jerez () is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. To distinguish the two, the town is officially called Jerez de García Salinas to honor a 19th-century reformer. The town of Jerez is the local government of 128 other communit ...
*
Juchipila Juchipila (Nahuatl: ''Xochipillan'', "place of noble or beautiful flowers") is a municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, located approximately southwest of the state capital Zacatecas City. Geography The municipality of Juchipila is loca ...
*
Juan Aldama Juan Aldama (January 3, 1774 in San Miguel el Grande, Guanajuato – June 26, 1811 in Chihuahua) was a Mexican revolutionary rebel soldier during the Mexican War of Independence in 1810. Biography He was also the brother of Ignacio Ald ...
*
Moyahua de Estrada Moyahua de Estrada Zacatecas is one of the southern municipalities in Zacatecas State in theme border with the state of Jalisco . It has a population of around 3500 people. More than 2000 people from Moyahua live in the United States, most of th ...
* Loreto * Ojocaliente *
Río Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
*
Sain Alto Sain may refer to: People * Bhagat Sain (14th and 15th centuries), king of Rewa, disciple of Bhagat Ramanand * Édouard Alexandre Sain (1830–1910), a French painter * Isidoro Sain (1869–1932), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church * Johnny ...
* Nochistlan *
Sombrerete Sombrerete () is a town and municipality located in the northwest of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, bordering the state of Durango. It was founded in 1555 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa as a mining center, due to the wealth that the mine ...
* Valparaiso * Victor Rosales * Villanueva *
Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...


References


External links

*
Portal with News and Information about Zacatecas

Zacatecas state government website
{{Authority control 1823 establishments in Mexico Mexican Plateau states States and territories established in 1823 States of Mexico