ZACATECAS

estado (state), north-central Mexico. It is bordered by Coahuila on the north, San Luis Potos on the east, Aguascalientes and Jalisco on the south, and Durango on the west. Its territory lies wholly within the central plateau and is traversed by several mountain ranges. The average elevation in the state is about 7,700 feet (2,350 m), and the climate is dry and generally healthful, being warm in the valleys and temperate in the mountains. The state's major rivers are the Aguanaval, Jerez, Juchipila, Tlaltenango, and Valparaiso. Rainfall averages about 20 inches (500 mm) per year. Much of the state's income comes from mining. Its mineral wealth was discovered soon after the Spanish conquest, and some of its mines date from the mid-16th century. Agriculture (cereals, alfalfa, sugarcane, and maguey, from which the beer called pulque is made) is also an important occupation, but the low rainfall limits crop yields, and only a small proportion of the state's farmland is irrigated. Cattle are raised, and meat processing is important. Manufactures are limited chiefly to the reduction of mineral ores, the extraction of rubber from guayule, the refining of sugar, and the manufacture of rum, pulque, mescal (from pulque), and woolen and cotton textiles. The rail, highway, and air routes traversing the state link Zacatecas city, the state capital, with El Paso (Texas) and Mexico City. Area 28,973 square miles (75,040 square km). Pop. (1990 prelim.) 1,278,279. city, capital of Zacatecas estado (state), north-central Mexico. It lies in a deep, narrow ravine, 8,189 feet (2,496 m) above sea level. Founded in 1548 (by Juan de Tolosa, Cristbal de Oate, Diego de Ibarra, and Baltasar Tremio), two years after silver was discovered in the area, it was given city status in 1585. The name means place where zacate grass grows. Until the 19th century, the mines around Zacatecas yielded one-fifth of the world's silver. Still a mining centre, the city is also a commercial and manufacturing centre for the agricultural hinterland. Zacatecas' cathedral, noted for its highly carved portico, was begun in 1612 and completed in 1752. It contained European paintings and elaborate silverwork and goldwork until the reforms of the 1850s and 1860s, when most of them were confiscated. The extensive Indian ruins of Chicomztoc are 28 miles (45 km) south-southwest of the city. The major highway and railroad linking Ciudad Jurez and Mexico City pass through Zacatecas, which also has an airport. Pop. (1980) 80,088.