The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Sharing its name with both the country and the national capital, Mexico City, the state is colloquially distinguished as Edomex (, from "State of Mexico"). It is the most populous and second most densely populated state in Mexico.
Located in central Mexico, the state is divided into 125 municipalities. The state capital city is Toluca de Lerdo ("Toluca"), while its largest city is Ecatepec de Morelos ("Ecatepec"). The State of Mexico surrounds Mexico City on three sides. It borders the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo to the north, Morelos and Guerrero to the south, Michoacán to the west, and Tlaxcala and Puebla to the east.
The territory now comprising the State of Mexico once formed the core of the pre-Hispanic Aztec Empire. During the Spanish colonial period, the region was incorporated into New Spain. After gaining independence in the 19th century, Mexico City was chosen as the new nation's capital; its territory was separated from the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero, and Morelos. These territorial separations have left the state with the size and shape it has today, with the Toluca Valley to the west of Mexico City and a panhandle that extends around the north and east of this entity.
The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is , distinct from ('Mexican'), which describes the people or things from the whole country.
Origin and etymology
Mēxihco was originally the Nahuatl name for the Valley of Mexico where the cities of the Mexica (the proper name for the Aztec Triple Alliance) were located. As such, the district that became Mexico City was properly known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the years shortly before and after the Spanish conquest. After the Spanish Conquest, the term México came to be used for Tenochtitlan/Mexico City and all the pre-conquest lands it controlled, including several other aforementioned states originally incorporated in the boundaries of the state of Mexico.
There are two possible origins for the name "Mexico." The first is that it derives from metztli (moon) and xictla (navel) to mean "from the navel of the moon". This comes from the old Aztec idea that the craters on the moon form a rabbit figure with one crater imitating a navel. The other possible origin is that it is derived from "Mextictli", an alternate name for the god Huitzilopochtli.
Anáhuac was the proper term for all territories dominated by the Aztec Empire, from Cem Anáhuac, "the entire earth" or "surrounded by waters" e.g. the waters of Lake Texcoco which were considered to be the center of the Aztec world, and as such was proposed as an early name for the entire nation of Mexico prior to independence, to distinguish it from the (preexisting) administrative division of New Spain that became the State of Mexico.
History
Prehistoric to Pre-Hispanic period
The earliest evidence of human habitation in the current territory of the state is a quartz scraper and obsidian blade found in the Tlapacoya area, which was an island in the former Lake Chalco. They are dated to the Pleistocene era which dates human habitation back to 20,000 years. The first people were hunter-gatherers. Stone age implements have been found all over the territory from mammoth bones to stone tools to human remains. Most have been found in the areas of Los Reyes Acozac, Tizayuca, Tepexpan, San Francisco Mazapa, El Risco and Tequixquiac. Between 20,000 and 5000 BCE, the people here eventually went from hunting and gathering to sedentary villages with farming and domesticated animals. The main crop was corn, and stone tools for the grinding of this grain became common. Later crops include beans, chili peppers, and squash grown near established villages. Evidence of ceramics appears around 2500 BCE with the earliest artifacts of these appearing in Tlapacoya, Atoto, Malinalco, Acatzingo and Tlatilco.
In the pre-historic State of Mexico, the Tepexpan Man is an important finding for Mexican and foreign anthropologists; it is an important key to understanding what the Valley of Mexico area was like, 5,000 years ago, as well as helping establish the occupation chronology of the region. Currently, some scholars attribute an age of 11,000 years, others 8,000, and some have suggested 5,000 years old. This individual was originally identified as a male, but recent research confirms a female identity, although this is still a subject of discussion.
Sacrum bone found in Tequixquiac is considered a work of prehistoric art. These people were thought to be nomadic, hunting large animals such as mammoths and gathering fruits as evidenced by archaeological evidence found at the site. One of the most salient discoveries of primitive art in America was found in here, called the Tequixquiac Bone, which had no known purpose, but reflected the ideological sense of the artist who carved the piece of bone from a camelid around 22,000 years BCE. The first native settlers of Tequixquiac were the Aztecs and Otomi, who decided to settle here permanently for the abundance of rivers and springs. They were engaged mainly in agriculture and the breeding of domestic animals.
The earliest major civilization of the state is Teotihuacan, with the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon being built between 100 BCE and 100 CE. Between 800 and 900 CE, the Matlatzincas established their dominion with Teotenango as capital. This city is walled with plazas, terraces, temples, altars, living quarters, and a Mesoamerican ball game court. In the 15th century, the Aztecs conquered the Toluca and Chalco valleys to the west and east of the Valley of Mexico respectively. Part of the Toluca Valley was held by the Purépechas as well. Other dominions during the pre-Hispanic period include that of the Chichimecas in Tenayuca and of the Acolhuas in Huexotla, Texcotizingo and Los Melones. Other important groups were the Mazahuas in the Atlacomulco area. Their center was at Mazahuacán, next to Jocotitlán volcano. The Otomis were centered in Jilotepec. The capital of the state was moved permanently to Toluca in 1830.
The struggles between the liberals (federalists) and the conservatives (centralized power) in the 19th century affected the state, especially in those areas that would later break away to form the states of Hidalgo, Morelos, and Guerrero. During the Mexican–American War, the Americans occupied Toluca and Mexico City, with the state government temporarily located in the unoccupied Sultepec.
The State of Mexico is located in the central zone of the Mexican Republic, in the eastern part of the Anáhuac table. It borders to the north with the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo; to the south with Guerrero and Morelos; to the east with Puebla and Tlaxcala; and to the west with Guerrero and Michoacán, as well as with Mexico City, which it surrounds to the north (northwest), east (southeast) and west (southwest).
Locations and ecosystems
thumb|The [[Popocatépetl Volcano is the state's highest point]]
The state is located in the center of the country, consisting mostly of the eastern side of the Anahuác Mesa. Most of the state consists of the Toluca Valley, the Tierra Caliente, the Mezquital Valley with the eastern panhandle mostly defined by the Chalco Valley. The state has a territory of 22,499.95 km2.
The physical geography of the state varies. The eastern portion is dominated by the Sierra Nevada, which divides the state from Puebla. In this mountain chain are the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanos. The Sierra de Monte Alto and Sierra de Monte Bajo divide the west side of the Federal District from the state and contain peaks such as Cerro de la Bufa and Monte de las Cruces. The Sierra de Xinantécatl is to the south of the Toluca Valley. At the northern edge of this mountain range is the Nevado de Toluca volcano. In the northwest of the state is the Sierra de San Andrés Timilpan. Most of the rock and soil formation in the state is of volcanic origin.
There are three river basins in the state: the Lerma, the Balsas, and the Pánuco. The most important is the Lerma River, which begins in the municipality of Almoloya del Río and passes through a large number of municipalities in the state. The southwestern part of the state is dominated by the Balsas River basin. The eastern panhandle of the state is dominated by the Pánuco River basin. On the various rivers of the state are dams such as José Antonio Alzate in Temoaya, Ignacio Ramirez in Almoloya, Guadalupe in Cuautitlán Izcalli, Madín in Naucalpan, Vicente Guerrero in Tlatlaya, Tepetitlan in San Felipe del Progreso as well as those in Valle del Bravo and Villa Victoria.
Due to the various climates, the state has a wide variety of flora. 609,000 hectares are covered in trees, most of which are in the temperate and cold climates of the state. In the extreme southwest of the state, rainforests can be found and desert plants in the Hidalgo border area. In the highest altitudes, such as the peak of the Nevada de Toluca, alpine grassland can be found. In the extreme west, some forests receive thousands of monarch butterflies each winter. The government is composed of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch is composed of the Congress of the State of México; the executive branch is composed of the Governor, Cabinet, and Public Prosecutor; and the judicial branch is composed of the Judicial Council, High Court of Justice, and lower courts.
The judiciary (') is composed of:
- The High Court of Justice ('), the state's highest court.
- The Judicial Council ('), responsible for administration of the judiciary.
- The trial courts (').
- The small claims courts (').
There are two metropolitan areas; the first is Greater Mexico City, in which there are 27 municipalities, and the city of Toluca, in which there are 6 municipalities.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!N.º
!Region
!Regional Headquarters
|-
!1
|Amecameca Region||Amecameca
|-
!2
|Atlacomulco Region||Atlacomulco
|-
!3
|Chimalhuacán Region||Chimalhuacán
|-
!4
|Cuautitlán Izcalli Region||Cuautitlán Izcalli
|-
!5
|Ecatepec Region||Ecatepec de Morelos
|-
!6
|Ixtlahuaca Region||Ixtlahuaca
|-
!7
|Lerma Region||Lerma
|-
!8
|Metepec Region||Metepec
|-
!9
|Naucalpan Region||Naucalpan de Juárez
|-
!10
|Nezahualcóyotl Region||Nezahualcóyotl
|-
!11
|Otumba Region||Otumba
|-
!12
|Tejupilco Region||Tejupilco
|-
!13
|Tenancingo Region||Tenancingo
|-
!14
|Tepotzotlán Region||Tepotzotlán
|-
!15
|Texcoco Region||Texcoco
|-
!16
|Tlalnepantla Region||Tlalnepantla de Baz
|-
!17
|Toluca Region||Toluca
|-
!18
|Tultitlán Region||Tultitlán
|-
!19
|Valle de Bravo Region||Valle de Bravo
|-
!20
|Zumpango Region||Zumpango de Ocampo
|}