Sinaloa

Sinaloa, state in northwestern Mexico. Sinaloa is the country’s most important fisheries state and its second leading producer of vegetables and cereals. It is also home to the city of Mazatlán, a major tourist and resort destination on the state’s Pacific coast. Sinaloa is bordered by the states of Nayarit on the south; by Chihuahua and Durango on the east; by Sonora on the north; and by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California on the west.

Sinaloa is a long, narrow state running north to south along Mexico’s western coast. The tropic of Cancer, a term for the northernmost boundary of the tropics, crosses the state. This produces a generally hot and humid climate in the coastal plains between the ocean and the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. The coastal plain comprises much of the state and ranges from about 35 to 140 km (about 22 to 87 mi) in width. Vegetation varies from tropical savanna in the south, to drier, brushy grassland in the north. The Sierra Madre foothills in the eastern part of the state receive significant rainfall and harbor pines, cedars, and other evergreens. Sinaloa has dammed numerous rivers flowing out of the Sierra Madre; it has more than 25 percent of the country’s usable surface water, allowing the state to irrigate some of the most fertile land in Mexico. The coastal region boasts many natural inlets. The state covers an area of 56,496 sq km (21,813 sq mi).

The capital city, Culiacán, is located in the center of the state between two rich, irrigated agricultural regions. Mazatlán is the state’s most important port and a major tourist resort renowned for its sport fishing. It is also a naval base, and for many years was the site of one of two national naval academies. Los Mochis, located on the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad at the northern end of the state, is the hub of an important agricultural region, as well as a center for the generation and distribution of electricity. The state’s population in 2000 was 2,534,835.

Economically, Sinaloa is one of Mexico’s most important states. Since World War II (1939-1945), it has been one of the few states in the country to dramatically increase employment in the agricultural sector, which accounted for more than a third of its economically active population in the mid-1990s. Sinaloa ranks among the top five states nationally in the value of its agricultural and fisheries output. It is a leading producer of cotton, wheat, rice, and sugarcane. The state is home to a large fishing fleet and has a number of onshore facilities for filleting, canning, and freezing marine products. In addition, large numbers of state residents are employed in the commercial and manufacturing sectors. Significant mineral products include gold, silver, copper, lead, iron ore, and zinc. Tourism is also important to the economy, especially in Mazatlán. An important tourist attraction, and one of the most scenic railroad trips in Mexico, is the route east from Los Mochis through the Sierra Madre Occidental range to Copper Canyon, a series of steep gorges between mountain peaks reaching up to 3000 m (9800 ft). The state is crossed by a major north-south highway and the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad extends its entire length. Ferries run from La Paz, in the state of Baja California Sur, to Mazatlán, as well as from La Paz to Topolobampo, the port for the city of Los Mochis.

For much of the colonial period, the region that is now Sinaloa was sparsely settled and largely isolated from the rest of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Sinaloa achieved statehood in 1830, shortly after Mexican independence. By this time, Mazatlán had already become Mexico’s most important west coast port. The state was deeply involved in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), with many of the state’s revolutionary leaders forming part of a faction that controlled the national government between 1920 and 1934. After the revolution, government subsidies and government-funded dams helped irrigate the coastal plains and turned Sinaloa into one of the nation’s most important agricultural centers. In recent years, drug trafficking has become a major social problem in the region.