San Luis Potosí
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- San Luis Potosí is the name of both a state in Mexico and that state's capital city. This article is about the state. For the city, see San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí.
| San Luis Potosí | |||
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| Location within Mexico | |||
| Country | Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | San Luis Potosí | ||
| Municipalities | 58 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Governor | Jesús Marcelo de los Santos Fraga (PAN) | ||
| - Federal Deputies | PAN: 7 | ||
| - Federal Senators | Alejandro Zapata Perogordo (PAN) Eugenio Govea Arcos (PAN) Carlos Jiménez Macías (PRI) |
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| Area Ranked 15th | |||
| - Total | 63,068 km² (24,350.7 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - Total | 2,410,414 (Ranked 16th) | ||
| - Demonym | Potosino | ||
| HDI (2004) | 0.7694 - medium Ranked 19th |
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| ISO 3166-2 | MX-SLP | ||
| Postal abbr. | S.L.P. | ||
| Website: San Luis Potosí state government | |||
The Mexican state of San Luis Potosí has an area of 24,266 square miles (62,849 km²). It is in the north-central part of the Mexican republic, bordered by the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Zacatecas.
At the 2005 census the population was 2,410,414. The largest University in the State is the "Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi" (UASLP).
The native peoples of the state include the Huastecs and Pame people.
In addition to the state capital San Luis Potosí, the state's largest cities include Ciudad Valles, Matehuala, and Rioverde.
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[edit] Geography
San Luis Potosí is bounded on the north by Coahuila, on the east by Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Veracruz, on the south by Hidalgo, Querétaro and Guanajuato, and on the west by Zacatecas.
The state lies mostly on the Mexican Plateau, with the exception of the southeastern corner of the state, where the tableland breaks down into the tropical valley of the Panuco River. The surface of the plateau is comparatively level, with some low mountainous wooded ridges. The Sierra Madre Oriental runs north and south through the state, separates the Mexican Plateau from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the east. The Sierra Madre Oriental is home to the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests. The Panuco River originates on the Plateau, and flows eastward through a gap in the Sierra Madre to drain into the Gulf of Mexico. The easternmost portion of the state lies on the Gulf Coastal Plain, and covered by the Veracruz moist forests.
The Panuco and its tributaries drain the southern and southeastern portion of the state. The northern and central portion of the state, including the capital, lie on an interior drainage basin which does not drain to the sea.
The mean elevation is about 6000 ft., insuring a temperate climate. The state lies partly within the arid zone of the north, the southern half receiving a more liberal rainfall through the influence of the "northers" on the Gulf coast. The rainfall, however, is uncertain and much of the state is poorly provided with rivers. The soil is fertile and in favourable seasons large crops of wheat, maize, beans and cotton are grown on the uplands. In the low tropical valleys, sugar, coffee, tobacco, peppers and fruit are staple products. Stockraising is an important industry and hides, tallow and wool are exported. Fine cabinet and construction woods are also exported to a limited extent.
At one time San Luis Potosi ranked among the leading mining provinces of Mexico, but the disorders following independence resulted in a great decline in that industry. The Catorce district has some of the richest silver mines in the country. Other well-known silver mining districts are Penon Blanco, Ramos and Guadalcazar. The development of Guadalcazar dates from 1620 and its ores yield gold, copper, zinc and bismuth, as well as silver. In the Ramos district, the Cocinera lode was said to have a total yield of over $60,000,000 in the first decade of the 20th Century.
Railway facilities are provided by the Mexican Central and Mexican National lines, the former crossing a corner of the state and having a branch from the capital to Tampico, and the latter passing through the state from north to south.
[edit] Municipalities
The State of San Luis Potosí is divided into 58 municipalities (Spanish: municipios), each headed by a municipal president (mayor).
[edit] Major communities
Although minor in size and population, Real de Catorce should be mentioned as a notable community of San Luis Potosí. It has appeared in several movies and been briefly mentioned in one song of the U2 rock band. (Which song?)
[edit] Governors
C.P. Marcelo de los Santos Fraga (2003-2009) PAN
[edit] Famous People
Arts and Sciences
- Jesus Silva Herzog - Economist and member of the National College of Mexico, father of Jesus Silva Herzog Flores
- Francisco Gonzalez Bocanegra - Author of the Mexican National Anthem
- Manuel Jose Othon - Poet
- Edward James
Journalists
- Julio Hernandez Lopez - Columnist of La Jornada
- Jesús Blancaornelas - Founder of Zeta
Politics
- Gonzalo Martinez Corbala - Ambassador to Chile during the Coup
- Miguel Barragan - President of Mexico
- Luis Ernesto Derbez
- Carlos Jongitud Barrios
- Francisco Xavier Salazar Saenz
- Samuel Del Villar
- Salvador Nava Martinez
- Gonzalo N. Santos
- Ponciano Arriaga
Sports
- Jorge Goeters, NASCAR driver
- Nery Castillo, Professional football (soccer) player. He was born in San Luis Potosi and moved out when he was 3 months old)
- Mil Mascaras (Thousand Masks), Professional Wrestler
Entertainment
- Ana Bárbara, famous singer in the Latin community, born and raised in San Luis Potosi
- Carlos Amador
- Lupe Vélez, Hollywood actress
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) San Luis Potosí state government
- Churches of San Luis Potosí
- (Spanish) Towns, cities, and postal codes in San Luis Potosí
- Tourism in San Luis Potosí
- Hotels in San Luis Potosí
[edit] References
- Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
States of Mexico | |
|---|---|
| Aguascalientes · Baja California · Baja California Sur · Campeche · Chiapas · Chihuahua · Coahuila · Colima · Durango · Distrito Federal · Guanajuato · Guerrero · Hidalgo · Jalisco · Mexico State · Michoacán · Morelos · Nayarit · Nuevo León · Oaxaca · Puebla · Querétaro · Quintana Roo · San Luis Potosí · Sinaloa · Sonora · Tabasco · Tamaulipas · Tlaxcala · Veracruz · Yucatán · Zacatecas | Image:Flag of Mexico.svg |
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