Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Where is Chiapas?
The Mexican state of Chiapas occupies the extreme southeast of Mexico, covering an area of . To the west, it borders with the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, and to the north with Tabasco. It borders on the east with Guatemala; the southern border consists of of Pacific coastline. Chiapas is geographically and culturally diverse. It features two principal highland regions: to the south is the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and in central Chiapas are the Montañas Centrales (Central Highlands). They are separated by the Depresión Central, containing the drainage basin of the Grijalva River. The Sierra Madre highlands gain altitude from west to east, with the highest mountains near the Guatemalan border.
Oaxaca in central southern Mexico has remained highly indigenous into the modern era and the destination for tourists wishing to experience the various indigenous cultures there. The capital of the state is Oaxaca City, is where most tourists stay, after arrival by plane at the major airport. Tourists can use the capital as a base for day-trip excursions outside the capital to visit towns specializing in particular crafts, often sold in traditional local markets (tianguis). Craft-making towns include Santa María Atzompa,(pottery); San Bartolo Coyotepec, (black pottery); Ocotlán, Oaxaca (pottery); San Martín Tilcajete, fantastical carvings called (alebrijes); and Teotitlan del Valle, rugs. Oaxacan cuisine is notable, with ingredients, such as salted and dried grasshoppers (chapulines), and flavors that are regional.
A Place Called Chiapas is a 1998 Canadian documentary film of first-hand accounts of the "Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional" (EZLN) the (Zapatista Army of National Liberation or Zapatistas) and the lives of its soldiers and the people for whom they fight. Director Nettie Wild takes the viewer to rebel territory in the southwestern Mexican state of Chiapas, where the EZLN live and evade the Mexican Army.
The Central Valleys () of Oaxaca, also simply known as the Oaxaca Valley, is a geographic region located within the modern-day state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. In an administrative context, it has been defined as comprising the districts of Etla, Centro, Zaachila, Zimatlán, Ocotlán, Tlacolula and Ejutla. The valley, which is located within the Sierra Madre Mountains, is shaped like a distorted and almost upside-down “Y,” with each of its arms bearing specific names: the northwestern Etla arm, the central southern Valle Grande, and the Tlacolula arm to the east. The Oaxaca Valley was home to the Zapotec civilization, one of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica, and the later Mixtec culture. A number of important and well-known archaeological sites are found in the Oaxaca Valley, including Monte Alban, Mitla, San José Mogote and Yagul. Today, the capital of the state, Oaxaca City, is located in the central portion of the valley.
The culinary center of the state is its capital of the same name, Oaxaca, located in what is called the Central Valleys region. While the dominant indigenous group here has been the Zapotecs since the pre Hispanic period, there has been influence from other groups as well, such as the Mixtecs. The indigenous people of Oaxaca have grown corn, beans, squash and other crops for thousands of years. In rural, especially indigenous villages, households still depend heavily on these foods with few changes in how they are grown, mostly on small plots. The cooking here retains much of its indigenous flavor, such as dishes prepared without fat (unknown before the arrival of the Spanish) and the use of the valley's abundance of vegetables and herbs especially in its moles. However, as capital of the state, it also received influence from other parts of Oaxaca.
The best-known geographical region of the state is called the Bajío, which is a relatively low, relatively flat area of between 1,700 and 1,800 meters, that surrounds the Lerma River and its tributaries. Centered in Guanajuato, parts also extend into the neighboring states of Querétaro and Jalisco. This low area is the source of its name, coming from the Spanish word "bajo" or low. The Bajío is filled with rolling hills and interrupted by the occasional chain of low mountains such as the Gavia and the Culiacán. Before the arrival of the Spanish, this area was covered in dense forests of holm oak and mesquite trees; however, mining's need for wood fuel eventually cleared those forests. Today, the area is the center of most of the state's agriculture and industry since the terrain allows for the building of highways and large farms, which produce grains, vegetables and fruit. This farmland is considered some of the most productive in Mexico.
The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name. It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, on the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín extending to the banks of the Atoyac River. The city relies heavily on tourism, which is based on its large number of colonial-era structures as well as the native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures and archeological sites. It, together with the archeological site of Monte Albán, was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is also the home of the month-long cultural festival called the "Guelaguetza", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.
Guanajuato is located in the center of Mexico, northwest of Mexico City, bordering the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro, and Jalisco. It covers an area of 30,589 km² and is ranked 20th out of 31 states. It has an average altitude of above sea level, with its territory divided among three of Mexico's physical regions, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Mexican Plateau and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The Sierra Madre Oriental in Guanajuato consists of the Sierra Gorda and the Sierra del Azafrán in the northeast. The Mexican Plateau extends through the center of the state. Within, it subdivides into various regions parted by low-lying mountain chains such as the Sierra de la Cuatralba and the Sierra de Cubo. The Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt crosses the state in the south and includes the Bajío area, the Altos de Jalisco and the valleys area in the far south. The state is crossed by several mountain ranges which have mountains between 2,300 and 3,000 meters high. Mountain ranges average 2,305 meters and flat areas lie at around 1,725 meters above mean sea level. The other important mountain ranges include the Sierra Gorda to the north, the Sierra de Guanjuato in the southeast, the Comanja in the northwest and the Codorniz in the east.
Asunción Province is one of the 20 provinces of the Ancash Region in Peru, one of the smallest provinces of the region. It is located in the heart of the central highlands of the region, on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Blanca, in the eastern area of the Ancash Region at a distance of 121 km from the city of Huaraz, the capital of the region, and 521 km from the city of Lima, the capital of Peru. Chacas, the capital of the province, is located about 3,350 m high in the midst of extremely rugged terrain.
The state is located in the center west of the Mexican Republic, on the extreme southwest of the central highlands. It borders the states of Mexico, Querétaro, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Colima, with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The state has a territory of , making it the sixteenth largest in Mexico (exactly at midpoint among Mexican states in Area). In addition, it also has of marine territory off its Pacific coast.
About 95% of the state's visitors are from Mexico, with the rest from other countries. Within the state, there are about seventy hotels ranked as four or five stars. The three main cities for tourism are the capital city of Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo. Guanajuato is visited for its colonial architecture and its role in Mexico's history, especially during the War of Independence. Similarly, San Miguel has cultural and historical value. Both have been designated World Heritage Sites. Although not a World Heritage Site, Dolores Hidalgo is particularly important as the site as it is where Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave the cry called "El Grito" which began the War of Independence.
The state has a number of ecosystems, from rainforest, to savanna to coast and sea. Environmentally, the state is divided into four major regions. The coast region consists of the entire coastline of the state and a strip of shallow water just offshore called the Sonda de Campeche with coral reefs and low islands called cays. The region has large expanses of mangroves which dominate the swamps. Non-swamp areas are dominated by palm trees. Wildlife is dominated by bird and reptile species such as storks, pelicans, ducks, seagulls, lizards, turtles and water snakes. The Mountain region is in the north and east of the state consisting of two chains of low hills called the Dzibalchen and Sierra Alta. It also includes the savannah area and an area called Los Chenes, where natural wells called cenotes are common. This area is noted for its tropical hardwoods and the chicle or gum tree. Wildlife includes deer, armadillos, rabbits, quail, and woodpeckers. The Rainforest region is located on the center and south of the state with a wide variety of trees including tropical hardwoods such as mahogany. Many of the plants used in the state's cuisine such as achiote and tropical fruits are from here. This area is under threat due to over exploitation. The River region is located in the southwest of the state, named after the various rivers that flow here, mostly emptying into the Laguna de Términos. It has the hottest and most humid climate in Campeche with wildlife and vegetation similar to that found in both the Rainforest and Coast regions.
Because it was sparsely populated, Texas was combined with Coahuila to create the state of Coahuila y Tejas. Texas had originally asked to become a territory if its statehood claim was denied, but after realizing that states controlled their own public lands, while as a territory public land would be controlled by the national government, Seguin chose not to request territorial status. The Congress did allow Texas the option of forming its own state "'as soon as it feels capable of doing so.'" The new state, the poorest in the Mexican federation, covered the boundaries of Spanish Texas but did not include the area around El Paso, which belonged to the state of Chihuahua and the area of Laredo, Texas, which became part of Tamaulipas. The capital of Texas moved from San Antonio to Monclova and then to Saltillo. Along with the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, Coahuila y Tejas was under a unified military organization. With the formation of a new state government, the Texas provincial governing committee was forced to disband. Many Tejanos were reluctant to give up their self-rule.
The total percentage of Mexico's population who is indigenous varies considerably depending of the criteria used by the government on its censuses: it is 5.4% if the ability to speak an indigenous language is used as the criteria to define a person as indigenous, if racial self-identification is used it is 14.9% and if people who consider themselves part indigenous are also included it amounts to 23%. Nonetheless, all the censuses conclude that the majority of Mexico's indigenous population is concentrated in rural areas of the southern and south-eastern Mexican states such as Yucatán at 59%, Quintana Roo 39% and Campeche 27%, who are chiefly Maya; Oaxaca with 48% of the population, the most numerous groups being the Mixtec and Zapotec peoples; Chiapas at 28%, the majority being Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya; Hidalgo 24%, the majority being Otomi; Puebla 19%, and Guerrero 17%, mostly Nahua peoples and the states of San Luis Potosí and Veracruz are both home to a population that is 15% indigenous, mostly from the Totonac, Nahua and Teenek (Huastec) groups. The absolute numbers of the indigenous population are growing, but at a slower rate than the rest of the population so that the percentage of indigenous peoples in regards to total population is nonetheless falling. All of the indices of social development for the indigenous population are considerably lower than the national average even though the indigenous population participates in the workforce longer than the national average with 55% of the indigenous population receiving less than a minimum salary, compared to 20% for the national average. Many practice subsistence agriculture and regulate some internal issues under customary law.
Chevé Cave ( ; ) is a deep cave located in the Sierra Juárez mountain range in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. As of 2003, its deepest point has been measured at deep, making it the second deepest known cavern in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s 12th deepest cave. The cave's deepest known point is nearly one vertical mile and seven horizontal miles from the entrance, ending in a terminal sump. The present limit of exploration in Chevé, at 9.3 kilometers from the nearest entrance, represents one of the most remote locations ever attained inside any cave on Earth. The logistics of reaching this point are enormous: more than two kilometers of rope need to be rigged and three underground camps established. Chevé is the deepest proven freshwater hydrological system in the world. Temperatures in Chevé are moderate, ranging from . It has been most thoroughly explored under the leadership of caver Bill Stone.
The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives the state highly variable weather. The Panhandle of the state has colder winters than North Texas, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state, averages of annual rainfall, while parts of southeast Texas average as much as per year. Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate per year.
In September 1821, the city of Campeche proclaimed its adherence to the Plan of Iguala and the new Independent government of Mexico, forcing out its last Spanish governor a month later. At Independence, Campeche was one of the two most important cities on the Yucatán Peninsula, along with Mérida. There was political friction between the two. Campeche was the more liberal of the two, and supported the 1824 Mexican Constitution which established a Federal Republic. In 1824, Campeche's representative proposed that the peninsula be divided into two states: Mérida and Campeche but this was not accepted. Political divisions intensified along with the nationwide struggle between Liberals and Conservatives .
Oaxaca is located in Southeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, Chiapas to the east. To the south, Oaxaca has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
Oaxaca ( , , from , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, make up the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipalities, of which 418 (almost three quarters) are governed by the system of (customs and traditions) with recognized local forms of self-governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.
The secondary sector of the economy (mining, construction, and industry) is almost entirely concentrated in the coastal area of the state in the municipalities of Campeche, Ciudad del Carmen and Champotón. Mining, mostly oil production, accounts for 52.8% of the state's GDP. This oil lies off the coast of the state, in a shallow water section of the Gulf of Mexico called the Sonda de Campeche. Campeche oil and gas production accounts for 37% of Mexico's total with crude oil alone accounting for 76% in absolute numbers. Campeche does not have metal deposits but it does have deposits of building stone, such as sandstone, marble and limestone, sand, gravel, lime, clay and other minerals. Most deposits are located in the municipalities of Hopelchén, Champotón and Calakmul. In the far north of the coast region, there are important deposits of salt. Construction and manufacturing account for 6.7% of the state's GDP. The most common type of industry relates to food and food processing including seafood, soft drinks, cookies, flour, sugar and honey. Another common industry is that of building materials such as cinderblock, wood products and the processing of building stone. Most industries are small with little financing for technology and growth. Since the 1990s, factories of the “maquiladora” type have opened in the state, such as the Calkiní Shirt Company in Tepacan, Calkiní, Textiles Blazer in Lerma, Campeche, Quality Textil de Campeche in Becal, Calkiní and Karims Textile and Apparel México in the city of Campeche.
The indigenous population of Mexico has in recent decades increased both in absolute numbers as-well as a percentage of the population. This is largely due to increased self-identification as indigenous, as-well as indigenous women having higher birth rates as compared to the Mexican average. Indigenous peoples are more likely to live in more rural areas, than the Mexican average, but many do reside in urban or suburban areas, particularly, in the central states of Mexico, Puebla, Tlaxcala, the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula.
Chiapas occupies the extreme southeast of Mexico; it possesses of Pacific coastline. Chiapas features two principal highland regions; to the south is the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and in central Chiapas are the Montañas Centrales (Central Highlands). They are separated by the Depresión Central, containing the drainage basin of the Grijalva River, featuring a hot climate with moderate rainfall. The Sierra Madre highlands gain altitude from west to east, with the highest mountains near the Guatemalan border. The Central Highlands of Chiapas rise sharply to the north of the Grijalva, to a maximum altitude of , then descend gradually towards the Yucatán Peninsula. They are cut by deep valleys running parallel to the Pacific coast, and feature a complex drainage system that feeds both the Grijalva and the Lacantún River. At the eastern end of the Central Highlands is the Lacandon Forest, this region is largely mountainous with lowland tropical plains at its easternmost extreme. The littoral zone of Soconusco lies to the south of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, and consists of a narrow coastal plain and the foothills of the Sierra Madre.
Chiapas' main port is just outside the city of Tapachula called the Puerto Chiapas. It faces 3,361 meters of ocean, with 3,060 m2 of warehouse space. Next to it there is an industrial park that covers 2,340,000 m2. Puerto Chiapas has 60,000 m2 of area with a capacity to receive 1,800 containers as well as refrigerated containers. The port serves the state of Chiapas and northern Guatemala. Puerto Chiapas serves to import and export products across the Pacific to Asia, the United States, Canada and South America. It also has connections with the Panama Canal. A marina serves yachts in transit.
There is an international airport located eleven km away as well as a railroad terminal ending at the port proper. Over the past five years the port has grown with its newest addition being a terminal for cruise ships with tours to the Izapa site, the Coffee Route, the city of Tapachula, Pozuelos Lake and an Artesanal Chocolate Tour. Principal exports through the port include banana and banana trees, corn, fertilizer and tuna.
Initially, "Chiapas" referred to the first two cities established by the Spanish in what is now the center of the state and the area surrounding them. Two other regions were also established, the Soconusco and Tuxtla, all under the regional colonial government of Guatemala. Chiapas, Soconusco and Tuxla regions were united to the first time as an "intendencia" during the Bourbon Reforms in 1790 as an administrative region under the name of Chiapas. However, within this intendencia, the division between Chiapas and Soconusco regions would remain strong and have consequences at the end of the colonial period.
The Chiapas catfish, "Lacantunia enigmatica", is an unusual species of catfish (order Siluriformes) newly described in 2005 from the Lacantún River in the Mexican state of Chiapas. While discovery of an undescribed species of catfish is not uncommon, discovery of a new family-level taxon of any vertebrate group is a rare event. The Chiapas catfish mainly feeds on crabs, prawns, small fish, and large, tough plant seeds. This catfish is commonly fished in its natural habitat, where it is known as "madre de juil", which means "mother of "Rhamdia"" (a common fish in the area).