Michoacán

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Michoacán

Location

Statistics
Capital	Morelia
Area	59,928 km² Ranked 16th
Population (2005 census)	3,966,073 Ranked 7th
HDI (2004)	0.7422 - medium Ranked 29th
Governor (2002-2008)	Lázaro Cárdenas Batel (PRD)
Federal Deputies	PRI: 8 PAN: 4
Federal Senators	Marco Auerelio Rodriguez Sanchez (PAN) Jose Manuel Lopez Ortiz (PAN) Marko A. Cortés (PAN)
ISO 3166-2 Postal Abbr.	MX-MIC Mich.

Michoacán de Ocampo (From michamacuan, Nahuatl for "the place of the fishermen") is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. It borders the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west, Guanajuato and Querétaro to the north, México to the east, Guerrero to the south-east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Michoacán has an area of 59 864 km² (23 113.62 square miles). In 2005 census the population was at 3,966,073 people. Its state capital is the city of Morelia (previously known as Valladolid).

Michoacán also contains the cities of Erongaricuaro, Cherán, Apatzingán, Huetamo, Zirandaro, San Lucas, Ciudad Hidalgo, Jacona, Jiquilpan, La Piedad, Lázaro Cárdenas, Los Reyes, Paracho, Pátzcuaro, Aquila, El Triunfo, Coalcoman, Puruándiro, Sahuayo, Uruapan, Zacapú, Zamora, and Zitácuaro. The state's pre-Columbian sites include the ruins of Tzintzuntzan, Ihautzio, and Tingambato.

The area around Angangueo in northeast Michoacán is famous for the beautiful monarch butterflies that spend the winter in the surrounding mountains.

On September 19, 1985, an earthquake measuring approximately 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Michoacán and inflicted severe damage on Mexico City. Estimates of the number of dead range from 6,500 to 30,000. (See Great Mexican Earthquake.)

On August 11, 2006, an earthquake measuring approximately 5.9 on the Richter scale struck the southeastern part of the state. It was felt in Mexico City also, but no casualties or damages occurred.

1 Demographics
2 Municipalities
3 Major communities
4 Drug Trafficking
5 Fauna of Michoacán
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Demographics

Michoacan's population is mainly Mestizo to the Northeast and Mulatto to the Southwest, but has also a great Pre-Hispanic civilization, the Tarascans in the north-eastern region, also called P'urhépecha by some. There is some African influence on the coastal region. People of Mulatto ancestry are commonly mistaken for Mestizo. The Aztecs attempted more than once to conquer the Tarascan lands, but never attained their goal. The region known as "Tierra Caliente" has a largely Mestizo population, with a minority descending from Andalusians.

[edit] Municipalities

See main article: Municipalities of Michoacán.

[edit] Major communities

[edit] Drug Trafficking

This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

In the year 2006, more than 2,000 people have been killed by Mexico's main drug cartels, including 500 in Michoacán state, making the state one the most deadly in the nation. The state also boasts the highest police murder rate for Mexico. A gang known as "The Family" have taken out newspaper advertisements in the state to declare that they are the upholder of law and order, contrasting their image with that of rival cartels. The town of Apatzingan with its back drop of the Sierra Madre mountains is at the center of the situation. In the area opium, poppy and marijuana farms dot the mountains along with light aircraft landing strips for cocaine transportation and makeshift methamphetamine labs. On December 14, 2006, on orders from recently sworn-in President Calderon, some 6,500 military personnel were sent to the state, in addition to a naval blockade to attempt to restore civil order and combat drug exportation. Many, however, are skeptical that the drug lords will simply find another place to hide.^[1]

[edit] Fauna of Michoacán

The main carnivores of the state are the jaguar, jaguarundi, cougar, onza, ocelot, margay, coyote, and boa constrictor. Other inhabitants of the state are the white-nosed coati, racoon, squirrel, skunk, armadillo, ringtail , white tailed deer, and a kind of wild pig named jabalí by the Spanish.

Reptiles include the spiney tailed iguana, Mexican beaded lizard, a species known as nolpiche is believed to be venomous by the local people but it is not, cnemidophorus, horrible spiny lizard, spiny lizard, Cope's largescale spiny lizard, bunchgrass lizard, rattlesnake, coral snake, ornate box turtle, new world sunbeam snake, trimorphodon and many others.

Some of the birds of the state are chachalaca, roadrunner, dove, caracara, golden eagle, vulture, quail, groove-billed ani locally known as "chicuaro", great horned owl, barn owl, and crow.