Sinaloa - Mazatlán

Mexican State

Area: 58,488sq.km/22,582sq.mi

Population: 2,425,700

This narrow state, which runs along the coast of the Mar de Cortés (Gulf of California), is bounded on the north by Sonora, on the south by Nayarit, and on the east by Durango and Chihuahua. This arid tropical coastal region merges in the east with the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The five rivers which flow down from the mountains into the Gulf support an extensive irrigation system by means of dams. Most of the population is either half-caste or creole; there are also pockets of Indians, principally of Mayo stock. Archaeological Sites

Of the small number of archaeological sites in the state, most of which consist of burial grounds or cave paintings, mention should be made of Camanito, Majada de Abajo, La Nanchita, Majada de Arriba, Imalá, Chametia and Guasave.

History

In the pre-Hispanic period Sinaloa was subject to heavy influxes of people from the central Mexican region. The remains left by these population movements have become referred to by the names of archaeological sites such as Chametia, Aztatlán, Culiacán and Guasave. Most of the finds so named are vessels made of alabaster and onyx or glazed coloured ceramics. They have now been classified as belonging to the period ad 400-1400 and have been attributed to the influences of the civilisations of Teotihuacán, Tula (Toltecs) and Mixteca-Puebla. In the 200 years before the Conquista the people living here were driven out in large numbers by nomadic tribes coming down from the north. A further influence at this time was exerted by the confederation of Chimalhuacán further to the south.

The first Spaniard to venture into the region now known as Sinaloa was probably Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán in 1531. Most of the settlements founded here during the 16th c. were destroyed by Indians and it was not until the second half of the 17th c. that a peace was reached with the help of Jesuit missionaries including Juan Padilla, Juan de la Cruz and Eusebio Francisco Kino. Together with Sonora, Sinaloa formed part of the relatively independent western province within the Spanish viceroyship. After the War of Independence (1810-21) Sinaloa was finally separated from Sonora in 1830, thereby becoming a federal state of the Mexican Republic in its own right.

Economy

In recent years artificial irrigation has enabled Sinaloa to develop into an important agricultural area. Its products include wheat, cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, winter vegetables and fruit. As one would expect, fishing and its allied processing industries are also important. Sinaloa's industries include tobacco products, edible oil, soap, textiles and ironmongery, while its mines produce salt, graphite, manganese ore and certain precious metals. Tourism is also an increasingly important source of income. In terms of transport, it is the railway lines which have most of all contributed to Sinaloa's development.