San Pedro Lagunillas
Encyclopedia
San Pedro Lagunillas is both a municipality
and the municipal seat of the same in the Mexican
state of Nayarit
. The population of the municipality was 7,155 (2005) in a total area of 520 square kilometers. The population of the town and municipal seat was 3,630 (2005).
The population has been declining since 1980 when it was 8,308 inhabitants.
The municipality of San Pedro Lagunillas is located at the following extreme coordinates: from parallel 20° 59’ to 21° 20’ latitude north and from meridian 104° 37’ to 104° 54’ longitude west. It is located in the south of the state of Nayarit
and is bounded in the north and east by the municipality of Santa María del Oro
, in the south by the municipalilty of Ahuacatlán
and the state of Jalisco
, and in the west by the municipality of Compostela
.
The pre-Hispanic name was "Ximochoque", which means "Place of bitter jars". With the arrival of the Spanish the place was rebaptized with the name of San Pedro Lagunillas to honor the first Count of Miravalle, Pedro Alonso Dávalos Bracamonte y Uibarri, who provided the resources for the construction of the church and in reference to the lakes of clear water found in the region.
Most of the municipality belongs to a volcanic zone. The main elevations are "Cerro Grande"(2,000 meters), "Cerro Tetillas" (1,760 meters), "Cerro La Palma" (1,740 meters), "Cerro Estiladero" (1,600 meters), "Cerro El Carretón" (1,580 meters), and the extinct volcano of "Tepetiltic" (1,500 meters).
The economy is mainly agricultural with the main crops being corn, beans, and sugarcane. There is some cattle raising with 34,214 head counted in the 1990 census.
Due to the seasonal nature of the agriculture there has been intensive emigration in the last twenty years, especially to the United States of America.
The main tourist sights are the two lakes of San Pedro and Tepetiltic. There is also a small museum in the town with displays of pre-Columbian artifacts.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and the municipal seat of the same in the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
. The population of the municipality was 7,155 (2005) in a total area of 520 square kilometers. The population of the town and municipal seat was 3,630 (2005).
The population has been declining since 1980 when it was 8,308 inhabitants.
The municipality of San Pedro Lagunillas is located at the following extreme coordinates: from parallel 20° 59’ to 21° 20’ latitude north and from meridian 104° 37’ to 104° 54’ longitude west. It is located in the south of the state of Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
and is bounded in the north and east by the municipality of Santa María del Oro
Santa María del Oro, Nayarit
Santa María del Oro is a municipality and municipal seat in the Mexican state of Nayarit. It is located in the south of the state and has boundaries with the municipalities of El Nayar, Tepic, Ahuacatlán, Jala, San Pedro Lagunillas, La Yesca, and Xalisco. The population was 21,688 in 2005, with...
, in the south by the municipalilty of Ahuacatlán
Ahuacatlán, Nayarit
Ahuacatlán is both a municipality and a municipal seat in the Mexican state of Nayarit. It is located in the southeastern part of the state and has boundaries with the following municipalities: in the north with San Pedro Lagunillas, Santa María del Oro and Jala; in the south with the state of...
and the state of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, and in the west by the municipality of Compostela
Compostela, Nayarit
Compostela is the name of both a municipality and the town within that municipality that serves as the seat. They are in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The population of the municipality was 62,925 in a total area of 1,848 km²...
.
The pre-Hispanic name was "Ximochoque", which means "Place of bitter jars". With the arrival of the Spanish the place was rebaptized with the name of San Pedro Lagunillas to honor the first Count of Miravalle, Pedro Alonso Dávalos Bracamonte y Uibarri, who provided the resources for the construction of the church and in reference to the lakes of clear water found in the region.
Most of the municipality belongs to a volcanic zone. The main elevations are "Cerro Grande"(2,000 meters), "Cerro Tetillas" (1,760 meters), "Cerro La Palma" (1,740 meters), "Cerro Estiladero" (1,600 meters), "Cerro El Carretón" (1,580 meters), and the extinct volcano of "Tepetiltic" (1,500 meters).
The economy is mainly agricultural with the main crops being corn, beans, and sugarcane. There is some cattle raising with 34,214 head counted in the 1990 census.
Due to the seasonal nature of the agriculture there has been intensive emigration in the last twenty years, especially to the United States of America.
The main tourist sights are the two lakes of San Pedro and Tepetiltic. There is also a small museum in the town with displays of pre-Columbian artifacts.