Bolaños | ||
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Location within the state of Jalisco |
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Location in Mexico | ||
Coordinates: 21°49′50″N 103°46′50″W / 21.83056°N 103.78056°WCoordinates: 21°49′50″N 103°46′50″W / 21.83056°N 103.78056°W | ||
Country | Mexico | |
State | Jalisco | |
Municipal seat | Bolaños | |
Founded | 1548 (Toribio de Bolaños) | |
Elevation | 575 m (1,887 ft) | |
Population (2005) | ||
• Total | 5,019 | |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | |
Postal code | 46101 | |
Area code(s) | (52) 437 | |
Website | www.bolanoscolonial.com |
Bolaños Municipality is located in the north of the Mexican state of Jalisco.
The municipality shares its border on the north with the municipalities of Mezquitic and Villa Guerrero and to the southeast with the municipality of Chimaltitán. To the south, it shares a border with the municipality of San Martín de Bolaños and to the southwest, it shares a border with the state of Nayarit.
Bolaños is surrounded with mountains and semi-desert and due to its topographical position in the canyon, Bolaños is often very hot. Bolaños is frequently one of the hottest spots in Mexico during the summer months, April–June with maximum temperature as high as 55 Celsius and in nighttime it can drop to only 7 Celsius. In the winter it can drop as low as -27 Celsius and in daytime high as 27 Celsius.
The population of Bolaños totaled 5,019 inhabitants according to the 2005 census. Of these, 826 lived in the municipal seat and the remainder lived in other communities within the municipality. The community with the largest population within the municipality is not the municipal seat, but rather Tuxpán de Bolaños which is an autonomous Wixárika (Huichol) village with a population of 944 inhabitants. The municipality suffers one of the highest poverty rates in the state of Jalisco. More than 48 percent of its inhabitants spoke an indigenous language according to the census. Most of these would be speakers of Huichol who inhabit one of the numerous indigenous communities within the borders of the municipality, including Tuxpán de Bolaños.
Of the economically active population, the largest group is employed in agriculture and husbandry (21 percent). The second largest group is employed in industry and manufacturing (15 percent), followed by mining (13 percent).
Prior to the Spanish conquest, the municipality of Bolaños was inhabited by the indigenous Tepecan (Tepehuan). The area was conquered by the Spanish Captain Pedro Almíndez Chirino, sent by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán in the year 1530. Shortly after the arrival of the Spanish into the area, the Huichol (Wixarika) migrated to the area's remote canyons and mountains.