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Mexican Facts and Figures

Sinaloa From La Paz, you can take a ferry across the Gulf of California to the mainland. When you land, you will find yourself in Sinaloa, a long, narrow state that is sandwiched between the gulf and the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Like Baja California, Sinaloa has desert lands, but unlike the rocky peninsula, this state also has fertile valleys and mountainsides where thick vegetation thrives. The state has four main rivers—the Fuerte, the Sinaloa, the Mocorito, and the Piaxtla—and these supply the land with surface water. With the help of irrigation, the state produces farm products for Mexico, especially mangos, cotton, and sugarcane. It also has the largest canning factory in Latin America. One of Sinaloa’s main cities is Mazatlán. This is Mexico’s chief Pacific port, and the country’s largest shrimp fleet docks there. The residents of the city enjoy baseball and bullfights, while visitors love the beaches. For a sufficient tip from tourists, cliff divers will leap 40 to 50 feet into water below.

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The harbor at Mazatlán, one of Mexico’s most important Pacific ports.