Comarca Lagunera

Comarca Lagunera Metropolitan Area
Comarca Lagunera Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan Area
	Zona Metropolitana de Comarca Lagunera (Spanish)
	From top to bottom from left to right: the Alameda Ignacio Zaragoza, the Cristo de las Noas, the Puerta de Torreón, the Plaza Mayor and the Plaza de Armas in the Historic Center
Interactive Map of Comarca Lagunera Metropolitan Area	City of Torreón / Ciudad de Torreón Zona metropolitana de La Laguna
	City of Torreón / Ciudad de Torreón Zona metropolitana de La Laguna
	Coordinates: 24°22′N102°22′W / 24.367°N 102.367°W
Country	Mexico
Largest city	Torreón
Other cities	Gómez Palacio ; Lerdo
Area
• Metropolitan Area	17,330 sq mi (44,900 km2)
Elevation	3,670 ft (1,120 m)
Population
• Metropolitan Area	1,488,613
• Density	86/sq mi (33/km2)
• Urban	1,152,053
• Rural	336,620
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
Telephone area codes	+52 (Country) 871 and 872
Airport	Francisco Sarabia International Airport (TRC)
	INEGI

Last updated June 17, 2024

The Comarca Lagunera or La Comarca de la Laguna ("region of lagoons") is a region of northern Mexico occupying large portions of the states of Durango and Coahuila, with rich soils produced by periodic flooding of the Nazas and Aguanaval rivers. Neither river drains into either the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, but rather they created a series of inland lakes. The region was developed for large-scale irrigated cotton agriculture. During the Mexican Revolution, the region was the site of fierce fighting. Following the military phase of the Revolution, the region was part of the agrarian reform under President Lázaro Cárdenas. The dam named for Cárdenas now controls flooding of the rivers, but the groundwater resources are no longer recharged as a result.^[1] It is the 8th largest metropolitan area in Mexico.

Geography

Municipalities

The Comarca Lagunera is formed by 15 municipios; 5 in Coahuila (Torreón Municipality, Matamoros Municipality, San Pedro Municipality, Francisco I. Madero Municipality, Viesca Municipality) and 10 in Durango (Gómez Palacio Municipality, Lerdo Municipality, Tlahualilo Municipality, Mapimí Municipality, Rodeo Municipality, Nazas Municipality, San Juan de Guadalupe Municipality, San Luis del Cordero Municipality, General Simón Bolívar, San Pedro del Gallo Municipality).

Territory

It covers an area of 44,887 km² (17,331 sq mi) out of which 22,031 km² (8,506 sq mi) belong to Coahuila and 25,856 km² (9,983 sq mi) to Durango, which makes it 2.5 percent of the national area.

Borders

It borders north with the state of Chihuahua, and with Sierra Mojada Municipality and Cuatrociénegas Municipality of Coahuila, to the west with Indé Municipality and Hidalgo Municipality in Durango, to the southwest with the state of Zacatecas and to the east with Parras Municipality in Coahuila. This polygon is located in the north-central part of Mexico, between the parallels 24° 22' and 26° 23' North and meridians 102° 22' and 104° 47' West in the southernmost part of the Bolsón de Mapimí. The average altitude of the region is of 1,139 meters (3,737 ft).

Hydrology

The Comarca Lagunera is subject to periodic flooding due to the overflowing of its principal rivers.

Nazas River

The Nazas River, average flow of 1,900 cubic meters per second, is formed from the merging of the Sextín River and the Ramos River. In its transit towards the Laguna de Mayrán it is contained in the Lázaro Cárdenas dam (3,336 million cubic meters). In its course it receives the flows of the Vizcaíno, Peñón, San Juan, Naitcha and Cuencamé creeks, and finally stops at the Francisco Zarco Dam (436 million cubic meters).

Aguanaval River

The Aguanaval River, which has an average flow of 600 cubic meters per second, is formed from the fusion of the Saín Alto River and Trujillo River in Zacatecas. It receives the flows of the Reyes, Santiago and Mazamitote creeks.

Other

There are other important hydrologic components in the Comarca Lagunera region. The Benjamín Ortega Cantero dam in the municipio of Mapimí, the Francisco González de la Vega dam in Rodeo, the Los Naranjos dam in Simón Bolívar and the Cinco de Mayo dam in San Pedro del Gallo. Also, the Mayrán and Viesca lagoons are big natural dams that constitute dry beds at the moment, and are unable to be filled due to the dams located in the Nazas River for the Mayrán lagoon and the city of Matamoros being in the Aguanaval River's flood path.

Orography

The region is conformed by a large and truncated mountain range, in which several prominent features can be seen constituted by sedimentary rock from the Mesozoic, where important marble and other non-ferrous minerals are exploited. The most important features within the Comarca Lagunera are the Sierra de Jimulco (altitude of 3,120 m), the Sierra del Rosario (altitude of 2,820 m), and the Sierra de Tlahualilo (altitude of 2,200 m).

History

In the 1980s, proposals began being made that Comarca Lagunera become Mexico's 33rd state, separating from Coahuila and Durango. In the late 1980s, three unsuccessful attempts were made in Congress to approve Comarca Laguna's statehood. Discussions have continued for decades, with no progress, until 2013, when a project named ELLA (Estado de La Laguna) presented the government with an updated proposal, arguing that statehood would help alleviate the issues of drought and poverty that plague the area. They say that the states of Durango and Coahuila provide a disproportionately small share of funding compared to what the region provides in taxes, labor and production. The group gathered over 500,000 petition signatures in support of the proposal. In January 2014, the Mexican government responded, agreeing to take the proposal under consideration.^[2]^{[ timeframe? ]}

Climate

It has average heat throughout the year, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) and extreme dryness, with an average rainfall of 300 mm (12 in). There is an average of 22 cold days a year, with temperatures ranging lows of 0 °C (32 °F) and highs of 40 °C (104 °F)

Population

The economic rise of the Comarca Lagunera is centralized in an urban center formed by the cities of Lerdo, Gómez Palacio, and Torreón. This major settlement has, as of 2000, a population of 1,249,442, out of which 912,822 are located in the urban area and 336,620 in rural settlements, making it the 8th largest metropolitan area in Mexico .

Economy

The Comarca Lagunera is Mexico's most important milk producer with a 14 percent of the national production of milk, 3.6 million liters of milk a day. And within the city of Torreón lies the largest silver refinery of the world, Met-Mex Peñoles. The Comarca is an important producer of raw materials and finished products: among which are cement, fertilizers, non-ferrous metals, marble, milk-derivates, among others.

One of the most important activities is that of the maquiladora (assembly plant) industry of clothing, car parts and electrical components.

Education

The region has a total of 32 professional studies centers, universities, community colleges, and technical institutes. The most important in the region are the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Laguna, the Iberoamerican University Torreón, Universidad Autónoma de la Laguna, Universidad La Salle and Instituto Tecnológico de la Laguna.

Related Research Articles

Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 32 states of Mexico.

Torreón is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in the country and the largest metropolitan area in the state of Coahuila, as well as one of Mexico's most important economic and industrial centers. The cities of Torreón; Gómez Palacio, Durango; Lerdo, Durango; Matamoros; Francisco I. Madero; San Pedro; Bermejillo, Durango; and Tlahualilo, Durango form the area of La Laguna or the Comarca Lagunera, a basin within the Chihuahuan Desert.

Durango, officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650, the 8th lowest of Mexico's states, Durango has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The capital city, Victoria de Durango, is named after the first President of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gómez Palacio, Durango</span> City in the Mexican state of Durango

Gómez Palacio is a city and its surrounding municipality in northeastern Durango, Mexico, adjacent to the border of the state of Coahuila. The city is named in honor of former Durango governor, Francisco Gómez Palacio y Bravo.

A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co-, meaning "together, jointly".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro</span> Mexican University

The Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University or Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro in Spanish (UAAAN) is a public university in Mexico dedicated to the Agricultural, Silvicultural, Animal Production, food and Environmental Sciences. It is located 6 km (3.7 mi) south of Saltillo, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomous University is one of the most important agricultural colleges of Latin America, and the "Narro" has national and international recognition in the agricultural and animal industry and the high academic level. There is also a campus in Torreón, Coahuila. It is also called "Universidad Antonio Narro" for short, or simply, "La Narro". In 2008 the UAAAN had an enrollment of about 4,500 students in both campuses, all in agriculture and related sciences.

The Nazas River is a river located in northern Mexico, in the states of Coahuila and Durango. It is part of the endorheic Bolsón de Mapimí. It is only 560 kilometres (350 mi) long, but irrigates an area of 71,906 km² (27,763 sq mi) in the middle of the desert. The Nazas is also nurtured by the San Juan, Ramos, Potreritos, del Oro, Nazas, Santiago, Tepehuanes and Peñón Blanco rivers. The river starts at the Sierra Madre Occidental. The aboriginal title for this stream is Tlahualilo, coming from the Nahuatl words tlalli meaning "fertile land" and ahualila, meaning "water for irrigation".

Cuencamé is a small city and the seat of the municipality of Cuencamé in the state of Durango, which is in northern Mexico. As of 2015, the city had a total population of 9,848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportes Moctezuma de la Laguna</span> Bus line in Torreón City, Mexico

Transportes Moctezuma de La Laguna is a Torreón City, Coahuila, Mexico Bus Line. In 2006, Transportes Moctezuma had 119 buses. Their buses are green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportes del Nazas</span>

Transportes del Nazas is a Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico bus line. It has 104 units, which are called rojos (reds).

Matamoros is a city located in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Coahuila; it serves as the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name. It lies directly east of the larger city of Torreón and is a part of the Comarca Lagunera, a larger metropolitan area that includes the municipality of Torreón in Coahuila in addition to the municipalities of Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in the adjacent state of Durango.

The Bolsón de Mapimí is an endorheic, or internal drainage, basin in which no rivers or streams drain to the sea, but rather toward the center of the basin, often terminating in swamps and ephemeral lakes. It is located in the center-north of the Mexican Plateau. The basin is shared by the states of Durango, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Zacatecas. It takes its name from Mapimí, a town in Durango.

The Aguanaval River is a river located in northeastern Mexico.

Tlahualilo de Zaragoza is a city located in the northeastern part of the Mexican state of Durango. Tlahualilo of Zaragoza is the municipal seat of the Tlahualilo municipio. As of 2010, the city had a population of 9,517. The city is part of the Comarca Lagunera metropolitan area, which has a population totalling more than 912,000 inhabitants in 2005. The municipality has a population of 22,244 and borders the state of Coahuila in the east, the municipality of Mapimí to the west and the city of Gómez Palacio to the south.

The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB). Based in Torreón, Coahuila, they play in the North Division of LMB.

Cuencamé is a municipality in the Mexican state of Durango. In 2015, the municipality had a total population of 35,415. The municipal seat lies at Cuencamé de Ceniceros. The municipality covers an area of 1324.9 km².

Venecia, Gomez Palacio, Durango, belongs to the Comarca Lagunera that spreads from the state of Coahuila to Durango.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laguneros de La Comarca</span> Basketball team in Torreón, Mexico

Laguneros de la Comarca is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Torreón, Coahuila. The Laguneros are part of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Auditorio Municipal de Torreón, with a capacity of 4,363 spectators.

The Lala Marathon is a 26.2-mile footrace from Gómez Palacio to Torreón, Mexico, first held in 1989 and sponsored by Grupo Lala. The marathon runs through Torreón's metro area, which is known as "La Laguna," and crosses through the states of Coahuila and Durango. In 2011, Kenyan Hillary Kipchirchir Kimaiyo set a record for the fastest marathon ever run in Mexico when he ran a 2:08:17.

The First Battle of Torreon, also known as the Capture of Torreon, which lasted from September 27 to October 1, 1913, was one of the battles of the Mexican Revolution, where revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa occupied a city protected by Huertist federal forces. The victory in his first large battle of the Mexican Revolution brought Villa not only a huge increase in prestige, but also considerable spoils of war in the form of urgently needed military equipment of all kinds.

References

↑ Mikael D. Wolfe.Watering the Revolution: An Environmental and Technological History of Agrarian Reform in Mexico. Durham: Duke University Press 2017.
↑ Proa, Enrique (2014-02-28). "La Comarca Lagunera busca su independencia". El Universal. Retrieved 2016-07-27.

Rodrigo Díaz Contreras (31 December 2005). "La Región Lagunera y su Zona Conurbada". Siglo Nuevo. 8 (7): 18–19.

External links

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[1] Mikael D. Wolfe.Watering the Revolution: An Environmental and Technological History of Agrarian Reform in Mexico. Durham: Duke University Press 2017.

[2] Proa, Enrique (2014-02-28). "La Comarca Lagunera busca su independencia". El Universal. Retrieved 2016-07-27.

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