Nayarit << ny uh REET >> is a state on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It has an area of 10,417 square miles (26,979 square kilometers). At the time of the 2020 census, the population was 1,235,456. Nayarit lies on the western slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range that extends from north to south in western Mexico. The state capital is Tepic, which means place of massive stones in the Nahuatl language. Western Nayarit has a tropical climate, while eastern Nayarit is a mountainous and heavily forested area with a temperate (moderate) climate. Southern Nayarit marks the northern edge of the Cordillera Neo-Volcanica, a chain of volcanoes that extends across central Mexico.
The economy of Nayarit relies heavily on agriculture. Farmers cultivate beans, coffee, corn, sugar cane, and tobacco. Small mining operations produce gold, silver, and heavy metals. The tourism industry is small but developing. Some visitors to Puerto Vallarta, in nearby Jalisco state, also take short trips into Nayarit for its beaches, bird watching, and kayaking.
Before Spain colonized the area in the 1500’s, Nayarit was home to several Native American peoples, including the Cora and Huichol Indians. Spaniards founded Tepic in 1532 and later incorporated the settlement into Jalisco state. Before it became a state, what is now Nayarit separated from Jalisco and became the Territory of Tepic. The territory became the Mexican state of Nayarit in 1917. In the 1920’s, workers completed a railroad link between Tepic and Guadalajara, in Jalisco state. This link was part of a longer route connecting Mexico City with northwestern Mexico and the western United States.
