Taxco
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Taxco (full name: Taxco de Alarcón) is an antique colonial silver-mining center located in the northern reaches of the Mexican state of Guerrero. It is located at , some 200 km southwest of Mexico City along the old highway to Acapulco. It stands at a height of some 1800 m above sea level in the western arm of the Sierra Madre del Sur. The city serves as the administrative center of the municipality of the same name, which covers a total area of 347 km² (134 sq mi) of the surrounding territory near the extreme northern part of the state. The city had a 2005 census population of 50,415 while the municipality had 98,854. The city is the fifth-largest in the state in population (behind Acapulco, Chilpancingo, Iguala, and Zihuatanejo). The largest communities in the municipality besides the city of Taxco are Tlamacazapa and Acamixtla.
Even though silver mining had been the main commercial activity of Taxco since colonial times, it is no longer considered a profitable activity, and the city is better known for its traditional silverwork, which attracts tourism throughout the year.
The city is built on the side of a mountain, with very steep narrow cobblestone streets lined by whitewashed houses with red-tiled roofs. It is also renowned for its more than 200-year-old baroque-style church, the Santa Prisca Cathedral.
[edit] References
- Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
- Guerrero Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México
[edit] External links
- Ayuntamiento de Taxco de Alarcón Official website
- Taxco Tourist Information, Hotels, maps
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