Colotlán
The municipality of Colotlán is in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 648 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at 22°12′N 103°18′W / 22.200°N 103.300°W. It stands at 1,550 metres (5,090 ft) above sea level.
Colotlán
648.1 km2 (250.2 sq mi)
5.45 km2 (2.10 sq mi)
1,550 m (5,090 ft)
19,689
30/km2 (79/sq mi)
15,129
2,800/km2 (7,200/sq mi)
Population[edit]
The population of the municipality of Colotlán in 2000 totaled 14,266. Of these, 12,283 lived in the municipal seat of Colotlán and the remainder lived in surrounding rural areas. The main villages in the Municipality (known in the region as "Ranchos") are: El Refugio, El Saucillo De Los Pérez, El Carrizal, El Epazote, Los Veliz, Agua Gorda.
Colotlán had a total of 6,008 economically active individuals in 2000. The manufacturing sector employs the largest percentage of this population (30.6 percent) followed by the wholesale and retail sectors (13.6 percent) and agriculture and ranching (12.0 percent).
The municipality is the origin and an important center of piteado manufacturing.
History[edit]
Pre-Hispanic[edit]
The name Colotlán means "the place of scorpions" in Nahuatl. Before the Spanish conquest, the area surrounding present-day Colotlán was inhabited by indigenous ethnic groups including the Tepecano, Guachichil and Zacatec (largely nomadic groups collectively referred to by the Mexica and later the Spanish as Chichimecs). These groups were continuously at war with the Caxcan who inhabited the surrounding areas.
One of the natural attractions of Colotlán is a natural canyon known as "La Barranca" located about 1 kilometer east of El Refugio, in the south east part of the municipality. This canyon runs for approximately 5 kilometers and is the exit of the basin of approximately 100 square kilometers that was formed in the highlands in the neighbouring state of Zacatecas between the Sierra de Morones and the "Cerro Chichimeco" (Chichimeco mountain, approximately 2,600 meters above sea level). The canyon is also the origin of the "Chichoca" River, that runs east–west and that joins the Colotlán River before joining the Bolaños River, one of the most important tributaries, running north–south, of the Lerma-Santiago River.