Querétaro (state, Mexico)

Querétaro (state, Mexico), state in central Mexico. Querétaro is an important commercial and industrial state and has played an important political role throughout Mexican history. Querétaro is bordered by the states of Michoacán and Mexico on the south, Hidalgo on the east, San Luis Potosí on the north, and Guanajuato on the west and southwest.

Situated on Mexico’s central plateau, Querétaro is comprised of two major geographic areas. The rugged and mountainous central and northern regions are dominated by the Sierra del Zamorano and the Sierra Gorda, which both form part of the larger Sierra Madre Oriental. The highest point in the state, Cerro de la Calentura (3550 m/11,647 ft), is located in the Sierra Gorda. Rolling plains and valleys in the south form part of the Bajío, a rich agricultural area that has been a center of human habitation since pre-Columbian times. The Sierra Queretana mountains cross the far southern end of the state.The climate is affected greatly by the varying altitude, but is generally dry and mild, with some areas receiving relatively heavy precipitation during the rainy season (May to October). El Cimatario National Park protects a mountainous and forested region that supplies water for the city of Querétaro, the state’s capital and largest city. The state covers an area of 11,978 sq km (4,625 sq mi).

From 1980 to 1990, Querétaro had the fourth highest rate of population growth of the 31 Mexican states. The city of Querétaro, the only major urban area in the state, is a regional economic and cultural center. It has long been a center for commerce and trading, serving as a link between Mexico City and mining regions to the north. The University of Querétaro (1951) is located in the capital. Other significant cities include San Juan del Río, a farming and dairy center southeast of the state capital; Amealco, a farming, forestry, and ranching town in the Sierra Queretana range; and Cadereyta de Montes, a farming and mining hub in the mountainous central region. The state’s population in 2005 was 1,598,139.

Querétaro produces avocados, peaches, and apples on a large scale. In the colonial era it prospered from trade and commerce and established a large textile industry. By the late 1700s, the city of Querétaro was producing more textiles than perhaps any city in the western hemisphere. Its close proximity to the Mexican capital, to which it is connected by a major toll highway, encouraged the development of industrial and manufacturing activities after World War II (1939-1945). Querétaro is now a leading producer of automobile and tractor parts, as well as other types of mechanical equipment. The state is also known for its production of opals and turquoise, which has helped foster the development of a significant artisan industry.

Prior to the Spanish conquest, Querétaro was populated largely by Native Americans known as the Otomí. It achieved statehood on October 4, 1824, in Mexico’s first constitution. During the Mexican War (1846-1848), Querétaro was the capital of Mexico. Between 1857 and 1867, a decade marked by civil war and foreign intervention, the state was the site of a number of key battles between liberals, who wanted political reforms, and conservatives, who opposed these efforts. These conflicts stemmed largely from efforts by liberals to limit the power of the Catholic Church and the Mexican military. The five-year French occupation of Mexico ended in Querétaro, when archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the emperor imposed upon Mexico, was defeated on May 15, 1867; he was executed a month later. By the late 1860s the political and economic dominance of the Catholic Church had largely been eliminated, but reformers proved unable to establish a stable, representative government. During the Mexican Revolution, Querétaro was the site of a constitutional convention, where elected representatives from all the states met to hammer out the 1917 constitution, a document that is still governing the country.