miércoles, 2 de junio de 2010
sábado, 29 de mayo de 2010
Etymology
The word Guanajuato comes from the Tarascan "Quanashuato," which means "Mountainous place of frogs." Over time, the indigenous word was altered, changing first into "Cuanaxuato," later into "Guanaxuato," and finally "Guanajuato."
Location
Guanajuato is located in a canyon between large mountains, 230 miles north of Mexico City. It is an extremely beautiful colonial city that was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.
The area around the city of Guanajuato was found to be rich in silver, and so a mining town flourished that became the modern day Guanajuato.
History
Guanajuato is without a doubt one of the loveliest cities in Mexico. Founded in 1559, its name means “place of the frogs”. The main points of attraction in Guanajuato are found in the centre and can easily be visited on foot.
Founded by the Spaniards at the beginning of the 16th century, the city of Guanajuato, capital of the state of the same name, situated in the centre of Mexico, soon became the silver-mining centre of the world.
Guanajuato, a city named "Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO in 1988, for the magnificent colonial buildings that make up its architecture, has an atmosphere that takes us back to the past. Cultural manifestations surge out of its theatres, churches and museums, squares, markets and side streets. Hundred-year-old buildings where heroic battles were fought and immortal romances live on in legend. Balconies and facades that saw the passage of figures like Hidalgo, Allende, Juárez, Maximilian and Porfirio Díaz. In the pre-Hispanic period the territory now occupied by the city of Guanajuato was chiefly inhabited by nomadic tribes generically known as Chichimecas (Pames, Guamares, Guanaxuas, etc.,) who lived by hunting and gathering.
Miners
Born of the mines, Guanajuato has always lived in a kind of symbiosis with them: the organisation of the streets, most of all, the colourful “underground streets”, the building of sumptuous churches such as the one belonging to the Jesuits and the Valenciana, among the most beautiful examples of baroque architecture in Latin America, the construction of numerous dams and hydraulic installations, the drilling of mineshafts, the most striking of which, La Boca del Infierno, goes 600 metres underground, are intimately bound up with its industrial history.
Weather
In Guanajuato there are three types of climate: semi-dry, temperate and semi-warm.
Semi-arid Climate
This is also called steppe climate and is so-called because evaporation exceeds precipitation. It is associated with plant communities of the desert scrub and “crasicaule” type (prickly pear, thistle, etc.). It is found in the north and east of the state, characterising about 40% of the total area. The municipalities of San Felipe, San Diego de la Unión, San Luis de la Paz, part of Dolores Hidalgo and San José de Iturbide, have this type of climate.
Temperate climate
In general this climate is intermediate in terms of temperature (mesothermal). The plant types which commonly grow in it are oak forests, oak-pine forests, pine forests, chaparral and grazing land. It appears in six variants, covering 20% of the total area and unevenly distributed. The least humid climate is found chiefly in the southeast, in the municipalities of Apaseo, Jerécuaro and Yuriria.
Frosts and hailstorms
In terms of the three areas of the state defined by the climate type, frosts and hailstorms occur in the following distribution:
Frosts:: In semi-arid climates the frequency of frosts is 10 to 50 days a year. In the extreme northeast the rate is about 10 days during the months of November and December, while for the rest of the zone it is from 20 to 40 days a year during the period from November to February, with the highest incidence in January. The frequency of frosts in temperate climates is from 10 to 40 days during the months of November, December, January and February, with the highest incidence in January. In the south this frequency varies from 10 to 30 days; for semi-arid climates frosts go down to 10 days and in some areas of the centre and southeast its incidence is negligible.
Semi-arid Climate
This is also called steppe climate and is so-called because evaporation exceeds precipitation. It is associated with plant communities of the desert scrub and “crasicaule” type (prickly pear, thistle, etc.). It is found in the north and east of the state, characterising about 40% of the total area. The municipalities of San Felipe, San Diego de la Unión, San Luis de la Paz, part of Dolores Hidalgo and San José de Iturbide, have this type of climate.
Temperate climate
In general this climate is intermediate in terms of temperature (mesothermal). The plant types which commonly grow in it are oak forests, oak-pine forests, pine forests, chaparral and grazing land. It appears in six variants, covering 20% of the total area and unevenly distributed. The least humid climate is found chiefly in the southeast, in the municipalities of Apaseo, Jerécuaro and Yuriria.
Frosts and hailstorms
In terms of the three areas of the state defined by the climate type, frosts and hailstorms occur in the following distribution:
Frosts:: In semi-arid climates the frequency of frosts is 10 to 50 days a year. In the extreme northeast the rate is about 10 days during the months of November and December, while for the rest of the zone it is from 20 to 40 days a year during the period from November to February, with the highest incidence in January. The frequency of frosts in temperate climates is from 10 to 40 days during the months of November, December, January and February, with the highest incidence in January. In the south this frequency varies from 10 to 30 days; for semi-arid climates frosts go down to 10 days and in some areas of the centre and southeast its incidence is negligible.
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