Chihuahua
(chee-WAH-wah), state (
94,831 sq mi/245,612 sq km; 1990
pop. 2,441,873), N Mexico, on the U.S. (Texas) border;
Chihuahua; 26°36'N 103°11'W. Largest of the Mex. states, Chihuahua
is divided into 2 regions—the mts. of the Sierra Madre
Occidental to the W, and the vast, cactus-and-greasewood desert basins,
broken by scattered barren ranges, to the N and E. In extreme E
Chihuahua and W Coahuila is a desert basin, the Bolson de
Mapimi. Chihuahua is a leading natl. mineral producer; gold,
zinc, lead, and other minerals constitute the state's most valuable
industry. Cattle raising has been revived. The state has seen damming
of some rivers for irrigation. Chihuahua is one of Mexico's chief agr.
states. Foreign (particularly U.S.) corporations have taken advantage
of the large and rapidly expanding pop. and built mfg. plants
(maquiladoras). Among the prods. are electronics and motor
vehicles. First known to the Spanish through the explorations of Cabeza
de Vaca, and after the settlement of Durango in 1562 by Francisco de
Ibarra, Chihuahua and Durango were called Nueva Vizcaya. Became a state
after the Mex. revolution against Spain. During the 19th cent.
Chihuahua was a center of Apache and Yaqui activity; today the
Tarahumara and Tepehuan Indians inhabit some of the remote regions of
Chihuahua. Of considerable importance to Chihuahua's economic and
political development was the W expansion of the U.S.; during the 19th
and early 20th cent. foreign investment was considerable, with the
border city of
Juarez as the commercial link. Occupied
by Amer. forces in the Mex. War and played a prominent part in the
turbulent years following the revolution in 1910. In 1961, in an
attempt to open some of the most valuable timber and mining lands in
the nation, Mexico inaugurated the 560-mi/901-km
Chihuahua-Pacific RR, which borders the gigantic Barranca del Cobre
(Copper Canyon). At Nuevo Casas Grandes, in NW Chihuahua, is
Paquime (Casas Grandes), a vast and important archaeological
site.
Capital city or county seat is shown by the symbol
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Chihuahua; 26°36'N 103°11'W. Largest of the Mex. states, Chihuahua
is divided into 2 regions—the mts. of the Sierra Madre
Occidental to the W, and the vast, cactus-and-greasewood desert basins,
broken by scattered barren ranges, to the N and E. In extreme E
Chihuahua and W Coahuila is a desert basin, the Bolson de
Mapimi. Chihuahua is a leading natl. mineral producer; gold,
zinc, lead, and other minerals constitute the state's most valuable
industry. Cattle raising has been revived. The state has seen damming
of some rivers for irrigation. Chihuahua is one of Mexico's chief agr.
states. Foreign (particularly U.S.) corporations have taken advantage
of the large and rapidly expanding pop. and built mfg. plants
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