Victoria de Durango

Durango is the capital and largest city of the northern Mexican state of Durango and the seat of the Durango municipality. It has a population of 654,876 as of the 2015 census. The city's official name is Victoria de Durango, Victoria having been added in honor of the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria, who hailed from the state of Durango. The city is located in the Valley of Guadiana and sits at an altitude of . Durango was founded on July 8, 1563, by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Ibarra. During the Spanish colonial era the city was the capital of the Nueva Vizcaya province of New Spain, which consisted mostly of the present day Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua. The city was founded due to its proximity to the Cerro del Mercado, located in the northern part of the modern city, which was believed to contain large amounts of silver. However, with time it was discovered that it was an important iron deposit. History The official name is Victoria de Durango but it is also commonly referred to as the City of Durango or Durango City. The name "Durango" comes from a town in the Spanish province of Biscay, of Basque origin. It was named by Francisco de Ibarra after his hometown, as did the original name for the area, which was Nuevo Vizcaya. The official name of the city became Victoria de Durango in 1826, in honor of Guadalupe Victoria, the first president of Mexico and native of the state. The city's coat-of-arms serves as the seal for the state.