Durango
[key], state, 47,691 sq mi (123,520 sq km), N central Mexico. The city of
Durango is the
capital. The western half of the state is dominated by the Sierra Madre
Occidental. These mountains contain deposits of many different minerals, and
the mines extend north into the state of Chihuahua and south into Zacatecas.
Durango is a leading national producer of ferrous metals. The semiarid
plains of E Durango afford good ranching, and livestock raising is a major
occupation. Lumbering is also economically important in the state. On the
border of Coahuila is the fertile Laguna District, where vast desert
basin lands are irrigated by the Nazas River. Gómez Palacio is the
main settlement in this region. Cotton is the chief crop in the Nazas
Valley, and wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, corn, and vegetables are also grown.
Although known early to the Spanish, Durango was not opened up until 1562,
when Francisco de Ibarra undertook its exploration and colonization. The
early European settlers of Durango and Chihuahua (which were then called
Nueva Viscaya) were strongly resisted by the native population, but the
mines and grazing lands continued to attract colonists. Durango became a
separate state in 1823, shortly after the Mexican revolution against
Spain.
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