Madera, also known as Ciudad Madera, is a town and seat of the municipality of Madera in the mountains of the northwestern Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Chihuahua. As of 2010, the city of Madera had a population of 15,447, up from 15,267 as of 2005. It is a logging town, located in the mountains and the lumber industry is still very important. ''Madera'' is Spanish for "wood", and there used to be a large U.S. company with large lumber mills, there is still a section of the city called "barrio americano" where some American-style wooden houses still survive. New manufacturing industries have created new employment for the residents. It is at 2,112 metres (6,929 ft) above sea level and was founded in 1906. The town is located 276 kilometres northwest of the state capital, Chihuahua, and 536 km southwest of

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

on the U.S. border.

History

Madera has been the starting point of the Cabalgata Binacional Villista (see

cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

). Madera is also the place where on September 23, 1965, a guerrilla attack on the military took place; this gave the name to the " Liga 23 de Septiembre," an urban socialist guerrilla group that took the name to commemorate what they considered their martyrs. Chihuahua governor Práxedes Giner Durán ordered the bodies to be buried in a mass grave.

Religion

From 25 April 1966 it was the seat of the

Territorial Prelature of Madera A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

; after that was promoted to Diocese of Cuauhtémoc-Madera, with a cathedral in its new see

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

, Madera's San Pedro church, dedicated to Saint Peter, was given the status of

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

Geography

Madera is surrounded by the great Sierra Madre mountains (southern stretch of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in Canada and USA).

Climate

Madera’s high altitude gives it a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfb''), characterised by warm, wet summers and dry winters with cold nights.

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

occurs most mornings from October to April, but daytime temperatures rise to double digits Celsius. Snow falls on about 7 days per year on average (more often on mountain peaks).

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Chihuahua (state) Populated places established in 1906 1906 establishments in Mexico