Colotlán

Colotlán
Municipality and town
Coat of arms
Municipality location in Jalisco
Colotlán Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 22°12′N 103°18′W / 22.200°N 103.300°W / 22.200; -103.300Coordinates: 22°12′N 103°18′W / 22.200°N 103.300°W / 22.200; -103.300
Country	Mexico
State	Jalisco
Area
• Total	505.15 km2 (195.04 sq mi)
Population (2005)
• Total	17,557
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

The municipality of Colotlán is located in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 505 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at 22°12′N 103°18′W / 22.200°N 103.300°W / 22.200; -103.300. It stands at 1,550 metres (5,090 ft) above sea level.

Colotlán is bordered on the northeast by the municipality of Santa María de los Ángeles, on the northwest and southeast by the state of Zacatecas and to the southwest by the municipality of Totatiche.

The population of the municipality of Colotlán in 2000 totaled 14,266. Of these, 12,283 lived in the municipal seat of Colotlán and the remainder lived in surrounding rural areas. The main villages in the Municipality (known in the region as "Ranchos") are: El Refugio, El Saucillo De Los Pérez, El Carrizal, El Epazote, Los Veliz, Agua Gorda.

Colotlán had a total of 6,008 economically active individuals in 2000. The manufacturing sector employs the largest percentage of this population (30.6 percent) followed by the wholesale and retail sectors (13.6 percent) and agriculture and ranching (12.0 percent).

The municipality is the origin and an important center of piteado manufacturing.

The name Colotlán means "the place of scorpions" in Nahuatl. Prior to the Spanish conquest, the area surrounding present-day Colotlán was inhabited by indigenous ethnic groups including the Tepecano, Guachichil and Zacatec (largely nomadic groups collectively referred to by the Mexica and later the Spanish as Chichimecs). These groups were continuously at war with the Caxcan who inhabited the surrounding areas.

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Wikipedia