Amealco de Bonfil

Infobox Settlement
name = Amealco de Bonfil
settlement_type = Municipality
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Mexico
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Querétaro
image_shield = EscudoAME.png

map_caption = Location of Amealco de Bonfil in Querétaro.
mapsize=200px
population_as_of=2005
population_total=56457
population_note=Data source: [http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/ INEGI]
population_density_km2=auto
area_total_km2=682.1
leader_title = Municipal president
leader_name = Javier Cajiga Rodriguez
leader_party = ApM
subdivision_type2 = Municipal seat
subdivision_name2 = Amealco de Bonfil
subdivision_type3 = Largest city
subdivision_name3 = Amealco de Bonfil
blank_name = INEGI code
blank_info = 001
blank1_name = HDI (2000)
blank1_info = 0.6803
blank2_name = GDP (per capita) (2000)
blank2_info = USD 2,200
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
latd = 20 | latm = 11 | lats = 17 | latNS = N
longd = 100 | longm= 08 | longs= 38 | longEW = W
website=es icon [http://www.municipioamealco.gob.mx/ Municipio de Amealco de Bonfil, Querétaro]
footnotes=Source: [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/queretaro/municipios/22001a.htm Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México]

Amealco is a municipality in the Mexican state of Querétaro. Its name is thought to mean "place of springs" in Nahuatl. The municipality seat, also called Amealco, is located 63 km southeast of Santiago de Querétaro. Its elevation is 2,605 meters above sea level, and the annual temperature ranges from 15 to 20 °C. It is one of the oldest settlements of Querétaro, being founded in 1538 by Fernando de Tapia (also known as "Conín") and Nicolás de San Luis Montañez, who would also found the State capital.

In the early XIX century, a group of French and Spanish entrepreneurs settled in the city and began the logging industry, which at its peak was one of the main suppliers of wood to Mexico City, and also exported wood to France and the United States. The governments of these two countries issued diplomas kept in the Palacio Municipal that certify the quality of Amealco's products.

The Hñähñu or Otomí people are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the municipality, in 34 settlements. The main ones are Santiago Mexquititlán and San Ildefonso Tultepec. They number around 20,000 people, or 36% of the total population. Amealco is the municipality with the highest concentration of indigenous people, with almost 80% of the State's total.

References

*es icon [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/queretaro/municipios/22001a.htm Amealco de Bonfil] , " [http://www.e-local.gob.mx/wb2/ELOCAL/ELOC_Enciclopedia Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México] ", Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal, SEGOB. Accessed on line November 15, 2007.

External links

*es icon [http://www.municipioamealco.gob.mx/ Municipio de Amealco de Bonfil, Querétaro] , official government web site.
*es icon [http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/espanol/pueblos_y_otros_rincones/centro/detalle.cfm?idpag=3251&idsec=41&idsub=0/ Amealco, lugar de manantiales (Querétaro)] , México Desconocido tourism web site.