Chihuahua (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃiˈwawa] (listen)), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua (English: Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua) (Tepehuán: ?), is one of the 32 states which comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Northwestern Mexico and is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it shares an extensive border with the U.S. adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. Its capital city is Chihuahua City.
Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with the Chihuahuan Desert for namesake, it has more forests than any other state in Mexico, with the exception of Durango. Due to its variant climate, the state has a large variety of fauna and flora. The state is mostly characterized by rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys.
The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, part of the continental spine that also includes the Rocky Mountains, dominates the state’s terrain and is home to the state’s greatest attraction, Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state’s agricultural production. Most of the inhabitants live along the Rio Grande Valley and the Conchos River Valley. The etymology of the name Chihuahua has long been disputed by historians and linguists. The most accepted theory explains that the name was derived from the Nahuatl language meaning “The place where the water of the rivers meet” (i.e., “confluence”, cf. Koblenz).
Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, with an area of 247,455 square kilometres (95,543 sq mi), it is slightly larger than the United Kingdom and slightly smaller than Wyoming, tenth US state by area. The state is consequently known under the nickname El Estado Grande (“The Great State” or “The Big State”). Chihuahua has a diversified state economy.
The earliest evidence of human inhabitants of modern-day Chihuahua was discovered in the area of Samalayuca and Rancho Colorado. Clovis points have been found in northeastern Chihuahua that have been dated from 12,000 BC to 7000 BC. It is thought that these inhabitants were hunter gatherers. Inhabitants of the state later developed farming with the domestication of corn. An archeological site in northern Chihuahua known as Cerro Juanaqueña revealed squash cultivation, irrigation techniques, and ceramic artifacts dating to around 2000 BC.
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability.
Originally inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the high sierras and canyons such as the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish invaders in the 16th century.[1] The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.
Estimates put the Rarámuri population in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practise a traditional lifestyle, including inhabiting natural shelters (caves or cliff overhangs). Staple crops are corn and beans; however, many of the Rarámuri still practise transhumance, raising cattle, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate from one place to another during the course of a year.
The Rarámuri language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken. In the Rarámuri language, the endonymic term rarámuri refers specifically to the men; women are referred to as mukí (individually), and as omugí or igómale (collectively).
