Piedras Negras, Coahuila

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Piedras Negras is a city in Coahuila, Mexico, located at 28.71° N 100.53° W.

Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Seal
Location in Mexico
Mexican State	Coahuila
Mayor 2006-2009	Jesús Mario Flores (PRI)
Area
- City	914.2 km²  (353 sq mi)
Elevation	250 m  (820.2 ft)
Population
- City (2005)	143,915
- Metro	169,771
Website: www.piedrasnegras.gob.mx

It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, across the Río Bravo (Rio Grande) from Eagle Pass in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2003 Piedras Negras had an estimated population of 132,900 people.

The city was founded in 1849. It was renamed Ciudad Porfirio Díaz in 1888, in homage to President Porfirio Díaz, but it reverted to its original name following the Mexican Revolution.

The Spanish words Piedras Negras translate as "black rocks" – a reference to the coal deposits that exist in the area. Across the river, coal was formerly mined on the US side at Dolchburg, near Eagle Pass, in a mine that closed around 1905 after a fire. Mexico currently operates 2 large coal-fired power plants named "Jose Lopez Portillo" and "Carbón 2" 30 miles south of Piedras Negras.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Demography 1.2 Climate 1.3 Natural Resources 2 Education 3 Tourism 4 Trivia 5 Local media 6 Recent events 7 Sister cities

[edit] Geography

[edit] Demography

In the Northern Region of Coahuila there are approximately 300,000 inhabitants. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing (INEGI), in 2005 the population of the county of Piedras Negras was of 143,915 inhabitants; this is equal to 5.6% of the population of Coahuila. 17% of the population of Piedras Negras is originally from other states, 3% are foreigners, and the rest is originally from Coahuila. Piedras Negras has a high-growing population rate due to it being a border city where exporting industries grow constantly and illegal immigrants hope to cross the border; it is estimated that in a few years it will become the third most populated city in the state of Coahuila, passing Monclova.

[edit] Climate

The climate of the region is Semiarid and Hot. During the summer temperatures often surpass the 100°F (38°C) degree mark. The hottest months are May through September with a daily average (mean) temperature of between 79°F (26°C) and 88°F (31°C).

The months with the highest precipitation are May, June and September with an average monthly precipitation of more than 80 mm but this is highly sporadic lending to frequent drought conditions. The period of lowest precipitation is December through March, with a monthly average of 30 mm.

[edit] Natural Resources

This region generates great part of the national production of carbon, one of the most important non-metalic elements in the state in the economical context.

[edit] Education

The nortern Region of Coahuila has several private schools in Piedras Negras:

• Institutos Cumbres y Alpes Piedras Negras
• Instituto Piedras Negras Don Bosco
• Colegio México
• Instituto Esperanza
• Instituto de las Américas Montessori-Bilingüe

As well as higher education schools:

• UAPN: Universidad Autónoma de Piedras Negras
• UAdeC: Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
• UANE: Universidad Autónoma del Noreste
• UPN: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional
• ITPN: Instituto Tecnológico de Piedras Negras
• UTNC: Universidad Tecnológica del Norte de Coahuila
• Escuela Superior de Comunicación "Sebastían Lerdo de Tejada"
• Centro Universitario del Norte

[edit] Tourism

Piedras Negras' main tourist attractions are:

1. The ruins of San Bernardo Mission (XVIII century)
2. The Handicrafts Museum
3. The Culture House
4. The Hunting and Fishing Club
5. De La Ventana Caverns
6. Mercado Zaragoza, known simply as El Mercado ("the Market"), a folkloric commercial center where one is able to buy a variety of original arts and crafts from the state: vases, leatherworked items, fine crystal, clay and ceramic wares, as well as candy made from traditional recipes from the region.
7. El Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Built in 1859 of ashlar, cement and wood, this church has survived the battles of the Cristero movement in 1927 and an explosion in 1934, leading to its renovation in 1935. The construction of its current towers began in 1950.
8. Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Three Cultures Plaza), a new park completed in 2005. The Plaza is a homage to Mexico's three main indigenous cultures: Aztec, Mayan, and Olmec. It features a replica of a pyramid representative of the style of each of the cultures, the biggest one being a replica of the Pyramid of the Sun, located in Teotihuacan, near Mexico City.
9. The Nacho Fest held every year, conmemorating the invention of the Nacho there.

[edit] Trivia

• Piedras Negras is the birthplace of Hector Ruiz, the current Chairman and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
• It is locally known, and proven, that Piedras Negras is the birthplace of the nacho.

[edit] Local media

Newspapers: El Zócalo is the most widely read newspaper in the region.
Local Radio Stations: XHTA - rtsp://64.38.13.15/broadcast/XHTA.rm

[edit] Recent events

On 4 April 2004, the Río Escondido (a tributary of the Río Bravo) broke its banks and some 80 residents of the Piedras Negras area were killed or disappeared in the resulting flash floods. See: coverage.

[edit] Sister cities

Piedras Negras has been assigned a sister city by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

• Sandy, Utah (This year was named one of the best cities in the United States to live in by Money Magazine)