Mazatlán

Mazatlán Port of Mazatlan
View of Mazatlán from El Faro
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  Pacific Pearl
Coordinates: 23°13′12″N 106°25′12″W / 23.22000°N 106.42000°W / 23.22000; -106.42000
Country	Mexico
State	Sinaloa
Municipality	Mazatlán
Settled	May 14, 1531
Government
• Mayor	Jorge Abel López Sánchez
Area
• Municipality	3,068.5 km2 (1,184.75 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	352,471
• Demonym	Mazatleco(a)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
Postal code	82000-
Area code	669
Website	http://www.mazatlan.gob.mx

Mazatlán (Spanish pronunciation: [ma sat ˈlan]) is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio (municipality) for which the city serves as the municipal capital is also called Mazatlán. It is located at 23°13′N 106°25′W / 23.217°N 106.417°W / 23.217; -106.417 on the Pacific coast, just across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer." The city was started in 1531. By the mid-1800s a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens made Mazatlán into a successful commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. They also influenced the music, banda, which is an form of Bavarian folk music, and also started the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900.

Mazatlán, with a population of 352,471 (city) and 403,888 (municipality) as of the 2005 census, is the second-largest city in the state (after Culiacán) and Mexico's largest commercial port. It is also a popular tourist destination, with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur exists. The municipality has a land area of 3,068.48 km² (1,184.75 sq mi) and includes smaller communities such as Villa Unión, La Noria, El Quelite, El Habal and many other small villages.

Mazatlán is served by Gral. Rafael Buelna International Airport.

• Hamm,  Germany since 1978
• Santa Monica, California  United States
• Seattle, Washington  United States
• Puntarenas,  Costa Rica
• Grande Prairie, Alberta  Canada

Viejo Mazatlan & Centro area:

• • Olas Altas
  • Playa Norte
  • Los Pinitos

Zona Dorada (Golden Zone):

• • Gaviotas
  • Sabalos
  • Playa Camaron

Nuevo Mazatlan area:

• • Cerritos
  • Playa Bruja
  • El Delfin
  • Marmol

Isla de la Piedra:

• 
  Valentinos from Playa Mazatlan
• 
  Parasailing near the Hotel Playa Mazatlan
• 
  Main entrance to the Hotel Playa Mazatlan
• 
  Church El Centro Mazatlan
• 
  Cliff diver, Mazatlan Mexico.

• Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005 INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
• Sinaloa Archived 2011-05-17 at the Wayback Machine Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

• Mazatlán Map Archived 2009-05-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Open Directory Mazatlán Business Archived 2009-06-21 at the Wayback Machine

• Instituto de Cultura
• Carnaval of Mazatlan Archived 2007-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
• Ayuntamiento de Mazatlán

• Mazatlán History in the XIX Century Archived 2017-05-16 at the Wayback Machine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mazatlán.