Tepic is the capital. Mostly wild and rugged, Nayarit is broken by western spurs of the Sierra Madre Occidental. In the northeast are broad, tropical plains watered by the Santiago River, a continuation of the Lerma. The volcanic soil, heavy rains, and altitude variations permit the cultivation of a variety of products of tropical and temperate agriculture-grain, sugarcane, cotton, coffee, and tobacco.
Cattle raising is also important.
Forest wealth, little exploited in the past, is rapidly being developed. With large deposits of lead, copper, silver, and gold, mining is a significant part of the state's economy. The coastal swamps are noted bird refuges. The Nayarit region was known to the Spanish early in the 16th cent. Spain did not finally conquer the area until the early 17th cent.