Chihuahua

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, in the north on the US border, a land of vast deserts and dramatic canyons. Its capital is also called Chihuahua, while Ciudad Juarez is the largest city. Famous for the spectacular Copper Canyon and as the namesake of the dog breed, it is a region of grand scale.

Chihuahua spans the Chihuahuan Desert in the east and the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west, where the Copper Canyon system is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The climate is mostly arid, with cold winters in the highlands.

The state combines northern Mexican ranching culture, with cowboys and norteno music, and the traditions of the Raramuri (Tarahumara) people, famed as long-distance runners. Border culture shapes Ciudad Juarez.

A frontier of mining, ranching and conflict, Chihuahua was a key arena of the Mexican Revolution and the base of Pancho Villa. It became a state in 1824 and grew through mining, agriculture and border manufacturing.