Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

Economy | The Malecón of Mazatlán | Mazatlán Aquarium | Mazatlán Lighthouse | Transportation | Durango-Mazatlán highway

🇲🇽 Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipio, known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula.

Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of deer". The city was founded in 1531 by an army of Spaniards and indigenous people. By the mid-19th century, a large group of immigrants arrived from Germany. Over time, Mazatlán developed into a commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. The German settlers also influenced the local music, banda, with some genres being an alteration of Bavarian folk music. The settlers also established the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900. Mazatlán has a rich culture and art community. In addition to the Angela Peralta Theater, Mazatlán has many galleries and artist's studios. Mazatlán's art museum, the Museo del Arte, exhibits both Mexican and international artists.

Mazatlán is the second-largest city in the state. It is also a tourist destination, with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry crosses the Gulf of California, from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur. The municipality has a land area of 3,068.48 km² (1,184.75 sq mi) and includes smaller outlying communities such as Villa Unión, La Noria, El Quelite, and El Habal. Mazatlán is served by General Rafael Buelna International Airport.

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Economy Tourism and fishing are the main industries in Mazatlán. The city houses the main beach resorts, and has the second largest fishing fleet in Mexico. The most processed seafood products in the city are shrimp and tuna. The first Mazatlán hotel with a restaurant inside was named Canton La Fonda, and became operational in 1850. It was owned by a Chinese immigrant, Luen-Sing, which called the establishment the Luen-Sing Hotel. In 1864, there were three hotels and three restaurants in Mazatlán, with more opening in the late nineteenth century. Today, more than twenty miles of beaches are the main attraction, and the city contains a large number of hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops. The city is also home to the Pacífico brewery, a coffee factory, and two power plants.

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The Malecón of Mazatlán The Malecón (boardwalk) of Mazatlán is to be considered one of the longest in the world. Its length is about 8.5 km along the Pacific coast. Along the Malecón are high cliffs, monuments, roundabouts, historical buildings, hotels, etc. The Malecón is composed of a series of roadways with designated space for pedestrians. The names of these roads vary depending on the stage or time of their construction. From south to north, the roads that compose the Malecón are as follow: • Calz. Joel Montes Camarena: which connects the lighthouse, which used to be an island, to the rest of the city. • Paseo del Centenario: starting in the previous street and bordering the west at the lookout hill where cliffs are seen, it was built to commemorate the centennial of the Independence of Mexico. • Paseo Olas Altas: the oldest section of the boardwalk, it was originally a dike to prevent flooding problems in the 1830s, then it became an embankment which was used as urban space, and eventually it became a recreational space. It was the first part of the city with street lighting, and includes the south side of icebox hill and lookout hill. • Paseo Claussen: It was built for the centennial in 1910. It borders the icebox hill and ends at the bay of Puerto Viejo. It was named in honor of George Claussen, who was in command of the Mazatlán Works Agency and promoted the centennial project. • Avenida del Mar: This is the most representative and longest section of the boardwalk; it extends along the bay of Puerto Viejo and comprises just over half of all the boardwalk. The panoramic tour ends at the tip, which initiates the Golden Zone (the primary hotel zone), and the avenue changes names twice and continues for several km parallel to the coastline, yet maintains some distance from the coastal hotels.

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Mazatlán Aquarium Since its opening on September 13, 1980, Mazatlán Aquarium has been one of the most complete and best of its kind in Latin America, besides being the largest in Mexico. According to the institution, "The primary objective is for the public to learn to respect the marine ecosystem that which we depend on, and we foster this through knowledge of marine species".

It is divided into two main areas, the Aquarium and Botanical Garden. The Aquarium contains exhibits for Marine Fish, Jellyfish, Dive Exhibition, Freshwater Fish, Fishbowl Sharks, an Exhibition Activity called Swimming with Sharks, Shark Species, Turtle Species, 50 different fish species, 2 Striped Rays, and 1 Sparrowhawk. The Museum of the Sea in the Aquarium houses temporary exhibitions and permanent displays that include shells, snails, and materials relating to the marine ecosystem. The Botanical Garden contains: 1 hectare which consists of 75 tree species from around the world, and regional species of Sinaloa; Sea Lions at their own pond, a Frog Pond holding 21 aquaterrariums in which about 13 species and a total of approximately 120 organisms reside, including grass frogs, toads, green tree frogs, eagle rays, and giant Mazatleco toads; an Oceanic Fishbowl with 50 species including lemon sharks, giant grouper fish, olive ridley, hawksbill, rays, snappers, butterfly fish, mackerel, and others; an Aviary with about 13 species of birds that inhabit the State of Sinaloa such as peacocks, mallards, white pelicans, brown pelicans, quails, pichichin ducks, white wing doves, and others; a Cactus section; plus crocodiles, owls snakes, lizards, ducks, black swans, parrots, ostrich, tigers, coyotes, and foxes.

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Mazatlán Lighthouse The Mazatlán lighthouse, called El Faro Lighthouse, is located at the peak of Cerro del Crestón, at the southern end of the peninsular city of Mazatlán. The lighthouse has the distinction of being settled in what was formerly an island, and has a length of 641 meters by 321 meters and a height of 157 meters, making it the highest natural lighthouse in the Americas, and one of the highest operating lighthouses in the world.

In 1821, the Cortes of Cádiz issued a decree certifying the City of Mazatlán as the first port of height of the Mexican Pacific. This introduced Mazatlán as a viable destination for international trade. The decree, along with the rapid growth of large mining and commercial consortia, led to an intensified level of ship traffic. In those days, it was not uncommon for over 60 ships from Europe and the Far East, loaded with different types of merchandise, to reach the port each year. After several days of travel and trading of supplies, these boats would depart Mazatlán loaded with bars of gold and silver from the rich mines of the region. While the exponential amount of growth in boat traffic into and out of the port undoubtedly benefited the region, it also presented a problem at night. At that time there was no way to indicate to boats in the dark where the marina was located, or how to enter and dock, making it hard for ships to be accurate, which often led to sailors endangering their boats.

The first use of the Isla de Crestón as a lighted marine signal was in 1828. The light facilities, located on top of an imposing hill, were very modest, consisting of only a small stone structure on which fires, fueled by whale oil and wood, or coconut chips, were lit. The fires were fed wood and coal, allowing them to produce a dim light that could only be seen within walking distance, making it of little help to seafarers, especially in bad weather.

El Faro became the answer to the problem. First lit over the Pacific Ocean in 1879, the lighthouse's original lamp was constructed in Paris. It was made of an oil lamp surrounded by mirrors, and a Fresnel lens to focus the light. This allowed El Faro's light to be seen from a much further distance, and thus give better navigation services, leading to approaches made with greater precision.

In 1905, the lamp was converted to hydrogen gas, and was made to be able to revolve in a full circle. The final update of the light source came in 1933, when it was converted to electricity, which is what is still there today. In order to emit its powerful light, El Faro uses a 1,000 watt bulb, which is focused by a Fresnel lens.

It is now one of the top tourist attractions in the city of Mazatlán, and people can hike up to see it up close. The view from the lighthouse is also a big draw for visitors.

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Transportation The General Rafael Buelna International Airport (IATA Code: MZT) has daily domestic flights and international flights to the United States and Canada.

By land, Mazatlán is connected to the north (Culiacan) and south (Tepic) and to Guadalajara via highway 15 and the corresponding Federal Highway 15D. To the east, it is connected to Durango by Highway 40 and the corresponding Federal Highway 40D.

Ferries make the daily journey to La Paz, Baja California Sur, while a varied number of cruise ships visit the port every week from the United States.

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Durango-Mazatlán highway The Durango-Mazatlán highway is a highway that link the cities of Mazatlán and Durango, crossing the Sierra Madre Occidental. Key Features: • 230 km in length • 63 tunnels • 115 bridges including the Baluarte Bridge • Two-lane and four-lane sections • Initial estimated cost for the work was 3.5 billion pesos, with a final estimate of 28.6 billion pesos • Generating 4,500 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs • Stretch of 7.7 km of 4 lanes (including the Baluarte Bridge) Main sections • "The Sinaloa" tunnel, measuring 2,794 meters • Baluarte bridge with a centre span of 520 meters and a total length of 1,124 meters • Bridge Parlors Time reduction of 6–8 hours to 3 hours.

Pulmonias are a common form of transportation in Mazatlán. These golf cart-like taxis are a form of transportation created in Mazatlán.

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America/Mazatlan/Sinaloa 
<b>America/Mazatlan/Sinaloa</b>
Image: FAL56

Mazatlán has a population of over 502,500 people. Mazatlán also forms part of the wider Sinaloa state which has a population of over 3,026,943 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Mazatlán see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Mazatlán has links with:

🇲🇽 Ensenada, Mexico 🇨🇦 Grande Prairie, Canada 🇩🇪 Hamm, Germany 🇺🇸 Pico Rivera, USA 🇨🇷 Puntarenas, Costa Rica 🇺🇸 San Ysidro, USA 🇺🇸 Santa Monica, USA 🇺🇸 Seattle, USA 🇲🇽 Tijuana, Mexico 🇺🇸 Tucson, USA
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

North of: 23.208

🇮🇳 Gandhinagar 23.217

🇮🇳 Bardhaman 23.233

🇮🇳 Bhopal 23.247

🇮🇳 Bhuj 23.25

🇧🇩 Chāndpur 23.26

🇨🇳 Puning 23.288

🇮🇳 Ratlam 23.334

🇮🇳 Ranchi 23.349

🇨🇳 Xishan 23.357

🇨🇳 Honghe 23.36

East of: -106.419

🇺🇸 Casper -106.317

🇲🇽 Chihuahua City -106.083

🇺🇸 Santa Fe -105.95

🇺🇸 Alamogordo -105.95

🇲🇽 Hidalgo del Parral -105.667

🇲🇽 Parral -105.667

🇺🇸 Gillette -105.494

🇲🇽 Ciudad Delicias -105.467

🇲🇽 Delicias -105.467

🇺🇸 Boulder -105.273

West of: -106.419

🇲🇽 Chihuahua -106.469

🇲🇽 Ciudad Juárez -106.482

🇺🇸 El Paso -106.486

🇲🇽 Juárez -106.496

🇺🇸 Albuquerque -106.652

🇺🇸 Rio Rancho -106.659

🇨🇦 Saskatoon -106.661

🇺🇸 Las Cruces -106.78

🇺🇸 Eagle -106.817

🇺🇸 Glenwood Springs -107.317

Antipodal to Mazatlán is: 73.581,-23.208

Locations Near: Mazatlán -106.419,23.208

🇲🇽 Culiacán -107.394,24.807 d: 203.5  

🇲🇽 Durango -104.651,24.001 d: 200.5  

🇲🇽 Victoria de Durango -104.661,24.024 d: 200.8  

🇲🇽 Tepic -104.883,21.5 d: 247  

🇲🇽 Compostela -104.9,21.233 d: 269.6  

🇲🇽 Valle de Banderas -105.233,20.8 d: 294.3  

🇲🇽 Guamúchil -108.081,25.457 d: 301.5  

🇲🇽 Puerto Vallarta -105.224,20.607 d: 314.4  

🇲🇽 San José del Cabo -109.711,23.06 d: 337  

🇲🇽 Jerez -102.983,22.633 d: 357.6  

Antipodal to: Mazatlán 73.581,-23.208

🇲🇺 Mahébourg 57.7,-20.407 d: 18347.2  

🇲🇺 Centre de Flacq 57.718,-20.2 d: 18343.4  

🇲🇺 Rivière du Rempart 57.633,-20.05 d: 18330.7  

🇲🇺 Curepipe 57.517,-20.317 d: 18326.3  

🇲🇺 St Pierre 57.517,-20.217 d: 18323.6  

🇲🇺 Vacoas-Phoenix 57.493,-20.3 d: 18323.4  

🇲🇺 Moka 57.496,-20.219 d: 18321.5  

🇲🇺 Mauritius 57.499,-20.162 d: 18320.2  

🇲🇺 Quatre Bornes 57.479,-20.266 d: 18321.1  

🇲🇺 Port Louis 57.5,-20.15 d: 18320  

Bing Map

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