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The state is named after its capital city, Chihuahua. The origin of the name is not known for sure, but it is old, predating the Spanish, and is thought to derive from the Nahuatl Xicuahua, or "dry, sandy place". Chihuahua stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, bounded on the north by the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico and, to the east of Ciudad Juárez, by the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande). The states of Sonora and Sinaloa border it on the west, Durango on the south, and Coahuila on the east. As of 1990, there were 2.5 million inhabitants of the state. The largest city is not the capital, Chihuahua, with a half-million inhabitants, but Ciudad Juárez, with 1.5 million residents (2004 estimate). The capital was founded in 1709 by Don Antonio Deza y Ulloa. Chihuahua's population is predominantly Mestizo, but it also has one of the largest proportion of white population among the Mexican States (35%) only suprated for the state of Coahuila (45%). It also includes such minority groups as the indigenous Tarahumara, Tepehuanes and Warojios in the mountainous areas, as well as large rural communities of Mennonites of German/Dutch origin and Anglo-American Mormon settlers (primarily in Colonia Juarez and Colonia Dublan, near Casas Grandes ). Chihuahua is known for its production of apples, nuts, timber, cattle and dairy products, sheep, ferrous (gold, silver, lead, zinc) and nonferrous metals, cement and ceramics. Large assembly plants (also known as Maquiladoras) geared toward export across the northern border are the dominant industry. The town of Mata Ortiz is recognized worldwide as the center of a new pottery movement. The state also has a large service sector: tourism, banking and high tech enterprises. One of the most notable features of Chihuahua is the Barranca del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a spectacular canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Chihuahua played a pivotal
role in the Mexican Revolution, and was a battleground between revolutionary
forces led by Pancho Villa and federal forces.
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Chihuahua
is a state in northwestern Mexico. With a mainland area of 244,938 km²,
it is the largest Mexican state. Although Chihuahua is primarily identified
by its large desert areas, it has more forests than any other Mexican state.
On the slope of the Sierra Madre mountains (around the regions of Casas
Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short
yellow grass, where most of the agricultural production of the state comes
from.