Map of Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a first-level division of Mexico. Its largest mapped city is León, with about 1.49 million people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Guanajuato, and the tables list its 5 mapped cities along with the World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 5
- Largest City
- León
- Country
- Mexico
Interactive Map of Guanajuato
About Guanajuato
Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato.
It is located in central Mexico and is bordered by the states of Jalisco to the west, Zacatecas to the northwest, San Luis Potosí to the north, Querétaro to the east, and Michoacán to the south. It covers an area of 30,608 km2 (11,818 sq mi). The state is home to several historically important cities, especially those along the "Bicentennial Route", which retraces the path of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's insurgent army at the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. This route begins at Dolores Hidalgo, and passes through the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, San Miguel de Allende, Celaya, and the capital of Guanajuato. Other important cities in the state include León, the state's biggest city, Salamanca, and Irapuato. The first town established by the Spaniards in Guanajuato is Acámbaro while the first to be named a city is Salvatierra.
Guanajuato is between the arid north of the country and the lusher south, and is geographically part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Mexican Plateau. It was initially settled by the Spanish in the 1520s due to mineral deposits found around the city of Guanajuato, but areas such as the Bajío region also became important for agriculture and livestock. Mining and agriculture were the mainstays of the state's economy, but have since been eclipsed by the secondary sector. Guanajuato has particularly seen growth in the automotive industry. The name Guanajuato comes from Purépecha kuanhasï juáta (or in older spelling "quanax huato"), which means "frog hill".
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Guanajuato (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Guanajuato in Depth
History
In the pre-Hispanic era, the Bajio saw the most human development due to the fertility of the soil and the presence of surface water for agriculture. The oldest group to inhabit the area were the people now known as the Chupícuarios, who dominated the center of the Bajío area and were active between 800 BCE and 300 CE. Their largest city is now the site called Chupícuaro, and their influence was widespread being found in the modern states of Zacatecas, Querétaro, Colima, Nayarit, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Michoacán and Guerrero. Chupícuaro cities were associated with the Toltec city of Tula and when this city fell, these agricultural cities of Guanajuato also went into decline.
Geography
Guanajuato is in the center of Mexico, northwest of Mexico City, bordering Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro, and Jalisco. It is the 20th-largest of Mexico's states, with an area of 30,589 km2. It has an average altitude of 2,015 meters (6,611 ft) above sea level, with its territory divided among three of Mexico's physical regions, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Mexican Plateau and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The Sierra Madre Oriental in Guanajuato consists of the Sierra Gorda and the Sierra del Azafrán in the northeast. The Mexican Plateau extends through the center of the state. It is subdivided into various regions parted by low-lying mountain chains such as the Sierra de la Cuatralba and the Sierra de Cubo.
Economy
Being located in the center of the country has important economic implications for the state, as a number of major national highways and railways pass through. The state is also a center of industry with most of the state's major cities and economy located in the La Sierra Central and El Bajío regions. It has equal access to both the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico as well as the major metropolitan areas of Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara. In 2008, the total GDP for the state was US$38,204,000,000 (427,503,000,000 MXN) or 3.88% of the total for the country. From 2003 to 2008, the economy grew 1.06% (adjusted for inflation). The state has the sixth-largest economy in Mexico behind Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Nuevo León, Jalisco, and Veracruz.
Demographics
As of 2005, the state had a population of 4,893,812, which is the sixth largest population in Mexico. About 67% live in urban areas, with the rest in rural areas, and women slightly outnumbering men. The largest population centers are León with 1,134,842 people, Irapuato with 440,134, Celaya with 382,958, and Salamanca with 226,654.
Over 94% of the population professes the Catholic religion, and the state is considered to be very conservative and adherent to Catholic principles both socially and politically.
Guanajuato has the fourth lowest number of people who can speak an Indigenous language.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Guanajuato (CC BY-SA 4.0).
History of Guanajuato: Empires and States
The atlas records 5 polities whose mapped territory included part of Guanajuato, from The Spanish Empire in 1534 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| The Spanish Empire | 1534–1821 CE |
| Mexicans | 1811–1819 CE |
| Federated Republic of Mexico | 1824–1863 CE |
| Centralist Mexico | 1836–1845 CE |
| Mexico | 1868–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Guanajuato
Guanajuato on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a city in the Bajio region of central Mexico and is the capital city of the state bearing the same name. It is 390 km (about 250 miles) northwest of Mexico City. The name of the city means "Place of Frogs" in the local indigenous language and therefore the frog is the city's official pet.
Guanajuato is a beautiful mountain colonial town. Many tourists and locals consider this city to be the most beautiful in Mexico. It used to be a major silver mining town, and many of the mines are still active. The city is built on very hilly ground, so virtually every point in the city is on a slant. The city has a network of underground tunnels that serve as roads making this place unique in the world. In 2020, it was home to 195,000 people.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Guanajuato (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Guanajuato
5 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 1.49 million | Guanajuato | Populated place |
| 2 | Celaya | 383,697 | Guanajuato | Populated place |
| 3 | Irapuato | 339,554 | Guanajuato | Populated place |
| 4 | Salamanca | 197,524 | Guanajuato | Populated place |
| 5 | Guanajuato | 112,200 | Guanajuato | Admin-1 capital |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Guanajuato
2 World Heritage Sites mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro | 1996 | Cultural | (ii) (iv) |
| 2 | Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco | 2008 | Cultural | (ii) (iv) |
Guanajuato: Quick Answers
- Where is Guanajuato?
- Guanajuato is a first-level division of Mexico, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 20.7886° N, 101.2964° W.
- What is the largest city in Guanajuato?
- León is the largest city mapped in Guanajuato, with a metropolitan population of about 1.49 million.
- How many cities are in Guanajuato?
- YearMaps maps 5 cities and towns in Guanajuato, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.52 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.