San Pedro Lagunillas is both 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 the municipal seat of the same in the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
state 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 ...
. The population of the municipality was 7,155 (2005) in a total area of 520 square kilometers. The population of the town and municipal seat was 3,630 (2005).
The population has been declining since 1980 when it was 8,308 inhabitants.
The municipality of San Pedro Lagunillas is located at the following extreme coordinates: from parallel 20° 59’ to 21° 20’ latitude north and from meridian 104° 37’ to 104° 54’ longitude west. It is located in the south of the state 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 ...
and is bounded in the north and east by the municipality of
Santa María del Oro, in the south by the municipality of
Ahuacatlán and 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 ...
, and in the west by the municipality of
Compostela.
The pre-Hispanic name was "Ximochoque", which means "Place of bitter jars". With the arrival of the Spanish the place was rebaptized with the name of San Pedro Lagunillas to honor the first Count of Miravalle, Pedro Alonso Dávalos Bracamonte y Uibarri, who provided the resources for the construction of the church and in reference to the lakes of clear water found in the region.
Most of the municipality belongs to a volcanic zone. The main elevations are "Cerro Grande"(2,000 meters), "Cerro Tetillas" (1,760 meters), "Cerro La Palma" (1,740 meters), "Cerro Estiladero" (1,600 meters), "Cerro El Carretón" (1,580 meters), and the extinct volcano of "Tepetiltic" (1,500 meters).
The economy is mainly agricultural with the main crops being corn, beans, and sugarcane. There is some cattle raising with 34,214 head counted in the 1990 census.
Due to the seasonal nature of the agriculture there has been intensive emigration in the last twenty years, especially to the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
The main tourist sights are the two lakes of San Pedro and Tepetiltic. There is also a small museum in the town with displays of pre-Columbian artifacts.
References
Mexico Desconocido article on San PedroEnciclopedia de los Municipios de México
{{Authority control
Populated places in Nayarit
Municipalities of Nayarit