Cerralvo | |
|---|---|
 Municipal Palace | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Cerralvo  Cerralvo | |
| Coordinates:26°5′N99°36′W / 26.083°N 99.600°W /26.083; -99.600 | |
| Country |  Mexico |
| State | Nuevo León |
| Municipal seat | Ciudad Cerralvo |
| Government | |
| • Federal electoral district | Nuevo León's 14th |
| Area | |
• Total | 925.1 km2 (357.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
• Total | 8,009 |
| • Density | 8.657/km2 (22.42/sq mi) |
| Data source:INEGI | |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Zona Centro) |
| Website | (in Spanish)cerralvo.gob.mx |
| Source:Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México | |
Cerralvo, sometimes known asCeralvo, is amunicipality situated in theMexican state ofNuevo León. Cerralvo is located in the northeastern region of Nuevo León, in theGulf Coastal Plain and in the northeastern agricultural and ranching economic zone that also includes the municipalities ofAgualeguas,General Treviño,Melchor Ocampo, andParás. It borders the municipality ofAgualeguas to the north, the municipality ofHigueras to the west, the municipality ofDoctor González to the southwest, the municipality ofLos Ramones to the south, and the municipalities ofLos Herreras,Melchor Ocampo, andGeneral Treviño to the east.[1]
The municipal seat of Cerralvo,Ciudad Cerralvo, is located at 26° 5' N, 99° 36' W, and is 345 meters above sea level.[1]
In 1577,José Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva founded the village ofSaltillo; in the same year, he also founded Santa Lucía, now calledMonterrey, and discovered the mines of San Gregorio, located in what is now called Cerralvo. On May 31, 1579, Luis Carvajal signed an agreement withKing Philip II of Spain to pacify the region and to establish the state ofNuevo León; the contract authorized him to do this in an area that did not exceed 200 leagues on a side.[1]
The first Spanish settlement in Nuevo León took place in 1582 in Cerralvo, which thus included the first capital of the state. In 1630, this settlement was renamedVilla de San Gregorio de Cerralvo, after the fifteenth Viceroy ofNew Spain,Rodrigo Pacheco y Osorio, marqués de Cerralvo.[1]
The municipality was settled in order to exploit mineral resources, including lead, and to sell Indians to the Spanish.[1]
Cerralvo is home to the national parkEl Sabinal, which, with an area of 8hectares, is the smallest national park in Mexico.[2]
26°05′N99°36′W / 26.083°N 99.600°W /26.083; -99.600
