Chihuahua

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico, with a mainland area of 244,938 square kilometers (94,571.1 sq mi), slightly bigger than the size of the UK, is located in the northwest surrounded by the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila and the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico.

Although Chihuahua is primarily identified by its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more forests than any other Mexican state. On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state's agricultural production.

As of 2005, there were 3.2 million inhabitants of the state. The largest city is not the capital, Chihuahua, with a 748,518 inhabitants, but the U.S.-border city of Ciudad Juárez, with 1,301,452 residents (2005 census). The capital was founded in 1709 by Don Antonio Deza y Ulloa.

One of the most notable features of Chihuahua is the Barranca del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a spectacular canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

Chihuahua played a pivotal role in the Mexican Revolution, and was a battleground between revolutionary forces led by Pancho Villa and federal forces.