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San Luis Potosi Facts

San Luis Potosi Facts
San Luis Potosi is the nineteenth most populous state in the United Mexican States. Located in central Mexico, most of San Luis Potosi is on the Mexican plateau and is semi-arid, although the eastern part of the state has a semi-tropical zone. Settlement of the area goes back to the Pre-Columbia era, but it grew significantly after gold, silver, and other deposits were discovered in its hills and mountains. The mines of the region were so bountiful and lucrative that it was given the name San Luis Potosi, St. Louis Potosi, after King Louis IX of France and Potosi, Bolivia, which it was often compared to in terms of mining wealth. San Luis Potosi was the scene of numerous battles during the Mexican War of Independence and the Mexican Civil War. In recent years parts of the state, especially in the north, have been plagued by high crime and drug cartel violence.
Interesting San Luis Potosi Facts:
San Luis Potosi is fifteenth in total area among all Mexican states with 23,605 square miles of land mass.
Silver was the main mineral mined in San Luis Potosi, but significant amounts of gold, zinc, copper, and bismuth were also extracted.
The state is divided into fifty-eight municipalities
In more recent decades, the mining industry of San Luis Potosi transitioned into the metallurgy industry, which in turn led to the development of automotive factories. The state is now one of the leading regions in Mexico's automotive industry.
The capital and largest city in the state is San Luis Potosi City, which has a metro area of over one million people.
Because most of the state is on a plateau, snow is very rare and rainfall is moderate.
San Luis Potosi is in the equivalent of the Central Time Zone, but it does not take part in daylight savings time.
San Luis Potosi became the sixth Mexican state on December 22, 1823.
San Luis Potosi City briefly became the Mexican capital under Benito Juarez when the French invaded in 1863. After Juarez fled the country, the French developed the city by building a telegraph to Mexico City.
The Huasteca region is the primary agricultural region of the state. Coffee, tobacco, and sugar are produced in the valley. Only a small part of the overall region is in San Louis Potosi.
The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain chain runs through southeast San Luis Potosi, separating it from Veracruz.
The average year-round temperature of the state is 64° F.
Although the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) controlled the state-wide politics of San Luis Potosi for decades, a member of the opposition National Action Party (PAN) was elected governor in 2003. Since that time, though, the PRI has mounted a comeback with the current governor a member of the party.
Manufacturing makes up the largest sector of the state's economy at 26%, with mining being only 1%.
The state's only international airport is located in San Louis Potosi City.


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