DURANGO

in full Durango De Victoria, city, capital of Durango state, north central Mexico. It lies in a fertile valley of the Sierra Madre, 6,197 ft (1,889 m) above sea level. North of the city is the Cerro del Mercado, a hill of nearly pure iron ore representing one of the world's largest deposits. Although first settled in 1556, it was not officially founded until 1563. It was the political and ecclesiastical capital of Nueva Vizcaya, which included Durango and Chihuahua until 1823. The city, long known as a health resort, especially for the thermal springs nearby, is an important commercial and mining centre, with diversified local industries that include cotton and wool mills, glassworks, iron foundries, flour mills, sugar refineries, and tobacco factories. The Jurez University of Durango (1957) is located in the city, and because General Guadalupe Victoria International Airport is nearby, Durango is easily accessible by air as well as by highway and railroad. Pop. (1980) 257,915. city, seat (1881) of La Plata county, southwestern Colorado, U.S., on the Animas River in the foothills of the La Plata Mountains at an altitude of 6,505 ft (1,983 m). Founded in 1880 during a mining boom by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, it was incorporated in 1881 and named for Durango, Mex. It developed as a shipping point for farm produce (including livestock) and local natural resources (timber, coal, oil and gas, gold, silver, lead, uranium, vanadium). The city is also a tourist centre and the headquarters of the San Juan National Forest. The DurangoSilverton narrow-gauge railway (1882; now used for sight-seeing), Mesa Verde National Park, the Southern Ute Tourist Centre, and Purgatory Ski Area are local features of interest. Durango is the seat of Fort Lewis College (1911) and has some light manufacturing. Pop. (1990) 12,430. state, north central Mexico. It is bounded by the states of Chihuahua (north), Coahuila and Zacatecas (east), Jalisco and Nayarit (south), and Sinaloa (west). The western portion of the state's 47,560 sq mi (123,181 sq km) of territory lies within the mineral-laden Sierra Madre Occidental; semiarid plains, used for ranching, comprise the eastern portion. Coursing eastward from the Sierra Madre, the Ro Nazas, the largest river in the state, flows for approximately 375 mi (600 km); when swollen by spring rains, it is the main source of water for commercial crops of cotton, wheat, corn (maize), tobacco, sugarcane, vegetables, and fruits. Along its lower course is the Laguna cotton district, a large state-operated cooperative enterprise that Durango city, shares with Coahuila. The state is rich in mineral resources. Although mining has been carried on for years, the deposits of silver, gold, sulfur, tin, coal, mercury, antimony, copper, and other minerals have been only partially exploited. Cerro del Mercado, a hill (700 ft high) of nearly pure hematite iron ore 2 mi from Durango city, the state capital, supplies the local mills. The Caldelaria silver mine, near San Dimas, has long been famous for its output. Other mining districts are Mapim, Cuencam, Nombre de Dios, Papasquiaro, and San Juan del Ro. An inadequate internal transportation network has hindered the exploitation of the mineral resources. First explored by Europeans in 156263, Durango shared the colonial history of Chihuahua as a major part of Nueva Vizcaya; the two became sovereign and separate states in 1823. In their frontier areas, they were subject to Indian uprisings until late in the 19th century. Railroads of the National Railways of Mexico traverse the state northeast to southwest, and another line crosses its eastern section. Durango is also crossed by two branches of the Pan-American Highway and has air routes. Pop. (1984 est.) 1,295,000.