El Oro de Hidalgo
El Oro is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico within the United Mexican States. The municipal seat is the town of El Oro de Hidalgo. The name El Oro (Spanish: [el ˈoɾo] ⓘ) means "the gold" in Spanish. It has subsequently been given an alternative Nahuatl name of "Teocuitlatl", meaning "sacred excrement" (referring to gold). Its seal, in the form of an Aztec glyph, contains elements referring to gold and to caves, of which there are many in the municipality.
El Oro | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
El Oro El Oro | |
| Coordinates: 19°48′03″N 100°07′53″W | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | State of Mexico |
| Municipality | El Oro |
| Municipal seat | El Oro de Hidalgo |
| Town Founded | 1787 |
| Municipality Founded | 1901 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal President | Gilberto López Martínez (2006–2009) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 137.86 km2 (53.23 sq mi) |
| Elevation (of seat) | 2,740 m (8,990 ft) |
| Population (2005) Municipality | |
| • Municipality | 31,847 |
| • Seat | 5,797 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 ( Central (US Central)) |
| Postal code (of seat) | 50600 |
| Website | eloromexico.gob.mx |
The municipality is located in the northwest of the State of Mexico, 96 km from the state capital of Toluca, and is bounded by the municipalities of Temascalcingo to the north, Jocotitlán to the east, San Felipe del Progreso and San José del Rincón to the south, and by the state of Michoacán to the west. As of 2005, the municipal seat with the formal name of El Oro de Hidalgo had a population of 5,797, and the municipality of El Oro had a population of 31,847. While the settlement made its name as a major gold- and silver-mining town from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, the mines have since been tapped out and the town is turning to tourism for economic development.