Mina is town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 and municipality

Municipalities of Nuevo León

The Mexican state of Nuevo León is divided into 51 municipalities, which take their names from their municipal seats. The most populous one is Monterrey, which also serves as the capital of the state...

 located at northwestern part of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

. The population was 4,309 at the 2005 census. The municipality is part of a historical region called Valle de Salinas (Spanish for 'Salinas Valley') which was an administrative area of the New Kingdom of León

New Kingdom of León

The New Kingdom of León , was an administrative territory of the Spanish Empire, politically ruled by the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was located in an area corresponding generally to the present-day northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León.-Origins:...

 during the Spanish colonial period. Its name honors Spaniard insurgent general Francisco Javier Mina

Francisco Javier Mina

Francisco Javier Mina was a Spanish lawyer and army officer and a Mexican revolutionary.-Biography:...

, who fought for the independence movement from Spain. Located at the northwestern part of the state of Nuevo León. Mina, often regarded by its inhabitants as a place of mysticism and legends, has important sites of archeology, history and palaeontology, which are important elements for the touristic development of Mina.

History

It was founded in 1608 by Canarian captain Bernabé de las Casas along with other Spanish and Canarian's settlers establishing the San Francisco de Cañas settlement (Named for Saint Francis of Assisi and 'Cañas', a Spanish word for 'Reeds'), as it was established in a place surrounded by water springs and reeds, possibly around the Salinas River (Nuevo León), which curses across the municipality. San Francisco de Cañas was part of the Valle de las Salinas (Spanish for 'Salinas Valley'). The Salinas Valley was one of the fourteen subdivisions of the New Kingdom of León

New Kingdom of León

The New Kingdom of León , was an administrative territory of the Spanish Empire, politically ruled by the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was located in an area corresponding generally to the present-day northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León.-Origins:...

. It comprised the present-day municipalities of Abasolo

Abasolo, Nuevo León

Abasolo is both a municipality and a town in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.-Location:The municipality of Abasolo is located in the central western region of the state, in the Salinas Valley. Its coordinates are 29º98’ N and 100º23’ W...

, El Carmen

El Carmen, Nuevo León

El Carmen, often known as "Carmen", is a town and municipality of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. The population was 6,996 at the 2005 census...

, Mina, Hidalgo

Hidalgo, Nuevo León

Hidalgo is a town of approximately 20,000 people, in the Mexican state of Nuevo León.The major cement company Cemex began operations here, and still has an operating factory. Increasingly, the neighbouring El Potrero Chico climbing area draws rock-climbers from around the world....

 and Salinas Victoria

Salinas Victoria

Salinas Victoria, is a municipality located to in the center of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. It shares borders with 11 municipalities including, to the north Villaldama and Sabinas Hidalgo; to the south Escobedo and Apodaca; to the east Higueras, Ciénega de Flores and General Zuazua; and...

, being the last one the administrative seat of the Salinas Valley. San Francisco de Cañas, often referred as Cañas until it was created as a municipality on May 31, 1851, therefore it was separated from the Salinas Valley

Salinas Valley

The Salinas Valley lies south of San Francisco, California.The word "salina" is spanish for salt marsh, salt lake or salt pan.-Geography:The Salinas Valley runs approximately south-east from Salinas towards King City. The valley lends its name to the geologic province in which it's located, the...

 administrative region, and was renamed as Mina. In honor of Spanish general Francisco Javier Mina

Francisco Javier Mina

Francisco Javier Mina was a Spanish lawyer and army officer and a Mexican revolutionary.-Biography:...

.

Since its foundation in the Spanish colonial period and much of the 19th century, the municipality of Mina, and many other regions in Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

 and northeastern Mexico

Northeastern Mexico

Northeastern Mexico, is a geographic region of Mexico, composed of the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. The Northeast is one of the wealthiest and most industrialized regions of Mexico; with Nuevo León having the highest GDP per capita among the Mexican states, closely followed by...

, remained isolated from the rest of Mexico, the centralist government of then, did not take up nor support many affairs and problems in the north, where there were a constant war against the native Americans, in the first instance it was against the native Cuanales and Aiguales, subsequently in the late 18th and 19th century, the region was marked by violent Comanche

Comanche

The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...

 and Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 raids from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, before and after it was annexed to the United States, those raiders often came to the region to steal cattle, livestock, properties, and attack the inhabitants. The region, especially the Northern part of Nuevo León, where Mina is located, witnessed many cruelty and fierce battles against the native Americans, this region was often known itself as tierra de guerra viva (Spanish: fierce war land). Several sites of historic battles took place in the region, such as in the Hacienda del Muerto, a former agricultural and livestock ranch, which also served as fort during many successful battles.

By late 1850s, New Leonese governor Santiago Vidaurri

Santiago Vidaurri

José Santiago Vidarrui was a controversial and powerful governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León between 1855 and 1864. His tenure was marked by secessionist ambitions and an unparalleled commerce with the Confederate States of America...

, claimed the war had finished and there were no native Americans in the region, after the native Americans in the region were exterminated and the Apache and Comanche raiders were defeated. However in the subsequent years the raids still continued although with much less proportion, until these raids virtually disappeared by late 19th century. However, the short period of peace had finished when the Mexican revolution

Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...

 reached the region, New Leonese general Mariano Escobedo

Mariano Escobedo

Mariano Escobedo was a Mexican Army general and former Governor of Nuevo León.He was born on January 16, 1826 in Galeana, Nuevo León. He fought during the Mexican American War in the army with the rank of lieutenant...

, achieved important victories against Porfirio Díaz

Porfirio Díaz

José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...

 forces, who was tremendously defeated in the Icamole fields, outside the Hacienda del Muerto. Although the victory was for the locals, this war attached a decreasing period for the Hacienda del Muerto, which did not fully recovered its golden age of several years ago, as well as, the Mexican revolution imposed a policy applied throughout all the country during the Mexican revolution which affected the state properties. The hacienda del Muerto, regarded as one of the most important historic sites in the state of Nuevo León, was sold in the early 20th century, later abandoned and it remained in ruins, almost isolated for many years.

In 1989 were discovered a great mammoth fossil by an expedition of paleontologists in the municipality, which arose the interest of creating a paleontology museum in Mina, which is now the Bernabé de las Casas museum. In recent years has been an increasing interest in developing tourism in Mina as well as in the Salinas valley region, Nuevo León and Northeastern Mexico.

Geography

Mina is the sixth largest municipality in Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

, though it has one of the lowest population density among municipalities, being just ahead of Vallecillo

Vallecillo

Vallecillo is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán....

 and Parás

Paras

Paras is a 1971 Hindi film starring: Sanjeev Kumar, Rakee, Mehmood, Farida Jalal, Shatrughan Sinha, Madan Puri....

. Mina borders north with the municipality of Candela

Candela

The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...

, west with Castaños

Castaños

Castaños is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.It is located at 101° 25' 58" West, 26° 47' 3" North, in the state's central region .There were 22,401 inhabitants in 2000.-External links:...

 and southwest with Ramos Arizpe

Ramos Arizpe

Ramos Arizpe is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Ramos Arizpe is located 11 km from the state capital of Saltillo. It is part of the Saltillo metropolitan area. The city reported a population of 48,228 in the 2005 census; the...

 in the state of Coahuila

Coahuila

Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

, and northeast with the municipalities of Bustamante

Bustamante

Bustamante is a family name originating in the town Bustamante which is part of the Cantabria region in northern Spain. The name may refer to:-Persons:...

 and Villaldama, east with Salinas Victoria

Salinas Victoria

Salinas Victoria, is a municipality located to in the center of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. It shares borders with 11 municipalities including, to the north Villaldama and Sabinas Hidalgo; to the south Escobedo and Apodaca; to the east Higueras, Ciénega de Flores and General Zuazua; and...

 and Hidalgo

Hidalgo, Nuevo León

Hidalgo is a town of approximately 20,000 people, in the Mexican state of Nuevo León.The major cement company Cemex began operations here, and still has an operating factory. Increasingly, the neighbouring El Potrero Chico climbing area draws rock-climbers from around the world....

, and south with García

García, Nuevo León

García is a municipality located to the northwest of the Monterrey metropolitan area in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. García had, according to the 2005 census, a population of 51,658 persons...

, all in the state of Nuevo León.

Vegetation in this region consists of several types of desert bushes, Huisache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana), mesquite

Mesquite

Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...

 (Prosopis

Prosopis

Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion...

spp.), Echinocereus enneacanthus, Opuntia

Opuntia

Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...

spp., as well as Lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla), Sotol (Dasylirion texanum

Dasylirion texanum

Dasylirion texanum, the Texan Sotol and Sotol, is a monocot flowering plant native to central and southwestern Texas and in Coahuila state of northeastern Mexico, including the Chihuahuan Desert.-Description:...

) are abundant throughout the municipality, and there are several endemic plants, among them are Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), Damiana (Turnera diffusa), La Gobernadora (Larrea tridentata), Hojasen (Flourensia cernua), Mariola (Parthenium incanum) and many other which have been less studied. Also, walnut

Walnut

Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...

, willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

, pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

, Oyamel (Abies religiosa), lantrisco, Antelope Bush (Purshia plicata), Tasajillo (Opuntia leptocaulis) are found in the highlands of the municipality close to Minas Viejas and Caja Pinta mountain range. According to recent excavations in the ejido

Ejido

The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...

 Boca de potrerillos in this municipality, have been found at twelve meters underground, several rests of carbonized nogal, willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 and several types of pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 which contrasts with the present-day plants abundant in Boca de Potrerillos, which is predominally desert, carbon 14 tests, pointed out the rests go back several centuries ago, this is an evidence about how vegetation and ecosystem has been changing through the years.

Fauna includes Nine-banded Armadillo

Nine-banded Armadillo

The nine-banded armadillo , or the nine-banded, long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos...

, Coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

, American Badger

American Badger

The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...

, rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

, deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

, fox

Fox

Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

, rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

, Greater Roadrunner

Greater Roadrunner

The Greater Roadrunner, taxonomically classified as Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo," is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Along with the Lesser Roadrunner, it is one of two species in the roadrunner genus Geococcyx...

, Raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

, Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...

, and prairie dog

Prairie dog

Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico...

, there are also, several other types of mammals, birds and reptiles.