Tanhuato 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 ...

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

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

. It is located approximately northwest of the state capital of Morelia.

Geography

The municipality of Tanhuato is located at an elevation between in the

Bajío El Bajío (the ''lowland'') is a cultural and geographical region within the central Mexican plateau which roughly spans from north-west of the Mexico City metropolitan area to the main silver mines in the northern-central part of the country. Thi ...

region in northwestern Michoacán. It borders the Michoacanese municipalities of

Yurécuaro Yurécuaro is a town and a municipality in the region of the Chapala cienega at the north-west in the Mexican state of Michoacán, at a height of 1530 meters (5065 ft) above sea level. Its limits to the north with the state of Jalisco ...

to the east,

Ecuandureo Ecuandureo is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), ...

to the southeast, Ixtlán to the southwest, and Vista Hermosa to the west. Additionally, the Lerma River forms the border between Tanhuato and the Jaliscan municipalities of

Ayotlán Ayotlán Municipality is a municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 518.57 km. As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 35,150. Place Names Ayotlán comes from "Ayotl" (its forme ...

to the northeast and La Barca to the northwest. The municipality covers an area of and comprises 0.39% of the state's area. As of 2009, the land cover in Tanhuato consists of tropical forest (31%) and grassland (9%). More than half (57%) of the land is used for agriculture and 1.9% consists of urban areas. The main soil types are vertisols (74%) and

phaeozem A Phaeozem in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a dark soil with a high Soil#Base saturation percentage, base status, but without a secondary carbonates within one metre of the soil surface. Phaeozems correlate with the Udolls ...

s (23%). The Gonzalo Reservoir lies on the border between Tanhuato and Vista Hermosa and has a total capacity of and a useful capacity of . Tanhuato has a temperate climate with rain in the summer. Average temperatures in the municipality range between , and average annual precipitation ranges between .

History

The place name Tanhuato is of Chichimeca origin, meaning "near the hill". In pre-Hispanic times the area was part of the Tarascan state. Tanhuato was one of the original municipalities established in Michoacán in 1831. The municipality was disestablished and incorporated into Yurécuaro at various periods in the 19th century (1856–1861, 1863–1868, and 1874–1877). In 1902, the municipal seat was renamed Tanhuato de Guerrero in honour of former Mexican president

Vicente Guerrero Vicente Ramón Guerrero (; baptized August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and later served as ...

Administration

The municipal government of Tanhuato comprises a president, a councillor ( Spanish: ''síndico''), and seven trustees (''regidores''), four elected by

relative majority A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all vote ...

and three by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. The current president of the municipality is Héctor Daniel Aranda Pérez.

Demographics

In the 2010 Mexican Census, the municipality of Tanhuato recorded a population of 15,176 inhabitants living in 3767 households. The 2015 Intercensal Survey estimated a population of 15,352 inhabitants in Tanhuato.

INEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

lists 18 localities in the municipality, of which only the municipal seat Tanhuato de Guerrero is classified as urban. It recorded a population of 9546 inhabitants in the 2010 Census.

Economy and infrastructure

Agriculture is the main economic activity in Tanhuato. Major crops grown include wheat, sorghum, corn, vegetables (e.g., chiles and hydroponically grown tomatoes), blue agave and beans. Tanhuato is particularly known for its alfalfa and chickpea production. Livestock raised include cattle, pigs, goats, poultry and bees. The toll expressway Federal Highway 15D runs through the municipality, as does Federal Highway 110.

References

{{Michoacán, state=collapsed Municipalities of Michoacán 1831 establishments in Mexico States and territories established in 1831