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Guanajuato Facts

Guanajuato Facts
Guanajuato is a state located in central Mexico. Although one of Mexico's smaller states in terms of landmass at 11,817 square miles, which puts it in twenty-second among its peers, it is quite densely populated. Guanajuato is the sixth most populous Mexican state with nearly six million people and fifth in density. In the Pre-Columbian Period, the region around Guanajuato was influenced and controlled by different Mesoamerican cultures, including the Toltecs and later the Aztecs. Between 1810 and 1821, Guanajuato was the site of several important battles during the War of Mexican Independence. Topographically, the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt dominates the southern part of the state, while the north is part of the arid Mexican Plateau.
Interesting Guanajuato Facts:
Guanajuato was the second state admitted to the United Mexican States on December 20, 1823.
The state is divided into three primary climate zones: semi-arid in the north, a temperate zone in the southeast, and hot and moist climate in the southwest. The hot and moist zone has rainforests.
Guanajuato City is the capital of the state, but Leon is the largest city with a metro population of more than one and a half million people.
Former Florida governor, Jeb Bush's wife Columba is a native of Guanajuato.
Although soccer/football is the most popular team sport in Guanajuato, the state is represented by the Bravos in Mexico's top professional baseball league.
Manufacturing is the largest sector in Guanajuato's economy, comprising about 28% of its total GDP. Most of the manufacturing in the state involves automobile and automobile parts production as well as pharmaceutical production.
The Mexican War of Independence actually began in Guanajuato when a Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costillo, raised a peasant army and led a march to Guanajuato City on September 28, 1810. After laying siege to royalists entrenched in a granary, Hidalgo and his rebels took the structure and the city, thereby starting the revolution that would finally end eleven years later.
Although there are some small Pre-Columbian archeological sites in Guanajuato, most historical tourism centers on the state's place in the War of Mexican Independence.
The Guanajuatense people are generally more socially and politically conservative than Mexicans in general. The center right National Action Party (PAN) enjoys widespread support in Guanajuato, with its current governor and both Senators both being members of the party.
Peralta is one of the more impressive archaeological sites in Guanajuato. It was a Toltec Era site that was an active city from AD 100 to 900 and was complete with more then twenty small pyramids.
Because Guanajuato is centrally located and relatively close to Mexico City, it is well-served by the federal Mexican highway system.
The state has one international airport, which is located in Silao.
Although Guanajuato was once known for its numerous, lucrative gold and silver mines, those mines are mainly depleted today. Most contemporary mining in Guanajuato involves other metals such as mercury, tin, copper, and lead. Mining in general still comprises a significant portion of the state's GDP.


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