Santa Catarina, Nuevo León

This article is about the municipality in Nuevo León, Mexico. For other places, see Santa Catarina (disambiguation).

Santa Catarina
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 25°41′N 100°27′W / 25.683°N 100.45°W / 25.683; -100.45Coordinates: 25°41′N 100°27′W / 25.683°N 100.45°W / 25.683; -100.45
Country	Mexico
State	Nuevo León
Founded	November 20, 1596
Government
– Mayor	Gabriel Alberto Navarro Rodríguez (PAN)
Area
– City	984.5 km2 (380.1 sq mi)
Elevation	680 m (2,231 ft)
Population (2005)
– City	259,896
– Density	264/km2 (683.8/sq mi)
– Metro	3,664,334
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Website	http://www.stacatarina.gob.mx

Santa Catarina is a city and municipality in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico that is part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area.

History

The name of this city comes from the Catholic Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The city of Santa Catarina was not "founded" in a traditional manner; at the beginning, it was only a resting point for travelers between Monterrey and Saltillo. The first recorded name was "Estancia de Santa Catarina" (Shelter of Santa Catarina).

During the French Invasion of Mexico in the second half of the 19th century, the president Benito Juárez spent some days in Santa Catarina while traveling to Monterrey, and it was during this time that he elevated its status to Village. The category of Village was maintained until 1979 when the state government elevated its status to City.

Geography

Santa Catarina is located about 15 kilometers southwest of central Monterrey. As of the Mexican census of 2005, its population was 259,202 in the city and 259,896 in the municipality. The city and municipality both rank sixth in population in the state. The municipality has an area of 984.5 km² (380.12 sq mi) and includes numerous very small localities outside of the city itself.

Natural Areas

Most of the National Park Cumbres of Monterrey, including the canyon of La Huasteca is located within Santa Catarina.

References

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Nuevo León Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

External links

• Municipio de Santa Catarina Official website
• Defensors of the huasteca website