Guanajuato, Mexico

The State of Guanajuato is bordered by the states of San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro and Jalisco, with an altitude that ranges between 800 and over 3,800 meters (3,150 and some 15,000 ft). Although it's principal agro-industrial cities are Leon, Irapuato, Salamanca and Celaya, the state is more known to the visitor and tourist for the colonial towns and historical centers of Guanajuato, San Miguel del Allende and Dolores Hidalgo.

Guanajuato state is rich in minerals, particularly in the central and northern regions. Production includes silver, gold, iron, cinnabar, lead, bismuth, mercury, tin and sulphur.

In the southern, more fertile areas of the state, corn, sorghum, beans, wheat, barley, chiles, tomatos, onions, broccoli and other vegetables are cultivated, and the region around Irapuato is well known for it's fine strawberries.

Weather

Del Bajio

With most of the state in an area of high plains, the temperatures are moderate to cool most of the year. Rains fall in the summer months, although the northern part of the state is drier even then, with a rainfall of no more than about 50 mm (20") a year .

The First Inhabitants

Guanajuato's first inhabitants, the Chupicuaro, settled in the southwest. They were an agrarian society, living in mud and grass huts, and were adept at ceramics and the forming of brown clay figures, flutes, ocarinas and other musical instruments.

Between the years 700 and 900, other cultures began to migrate into the area, among them the Toltecs, who brought their knowledge of metalwork, and many of the Chicimecan tribes, who were a hunters and gatherers. The Chichimecas were skilled in weaving cane, wicker and other grasses

Places and information of interest in the State of Guanajuato

Guanajuato City - one of Mexico's most beautiful cities
San Miguel de Allende - colonial city and center of the arts
Dolores Hidalgo - The cradle of Mexican Independence