Mazatlán

**Mazatlán** () 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  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.

## Sister towns

- Hamm,  since 1978
- Santa Monica, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Puntarenas,
- Grande Prairie, Alberta

### Communities and neighborhoods

|style="background-color: #E0FFFF;"|Communities of Mazatlan|
| --- | --- |
|* Bugambilias * Casa Blanca * Centro Histórico * Cerritos * Colonia Lazaro Cardenas * El Cid * El Dorado * El Estero * El Toreo * El Venadillo * Flamingos * Flores Magon * Gaviotas * Infonavit Playas * Juarez * La Alameda * La Ciudad Perdida * La Ferrocarrilera * La Joya * Lomas de Mazatlán * Lomas del Ebano * Lopez Mateos * Los Mangos * Los Olivos * Los Sauces * Mediterraneo * Montuosa * Nuevo Mazatlan * Olas Altas * Palos Prietos * Paseo de los Olivos * Playa Sur * Real del Valle * Sabalo * San Jorge * Villa Florida * Villa Galaxia * Villa Marina * Villa Verde * Villas del Rey * Zona Dorada||

### Beaches and parks

**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:**

### Spanish

- Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005  INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
- Sinaloa  Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

## Other websites

- Mazatlán Map
- Open Directory Mazatlán Business

### Official websites

- Instituto de Cultura
- Carnaval of Mazatlan
- Ayuntamiento de Mazatlán

### Spanish

- Mazatlán History in the XIX Century

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Mazatlán
- **other name**: Port of Mazatlan
- **nickname**: Pacific Pearl
- **image skyline**: Mazatlan panorama from El Faro 1.jpg
- **image caption**: View of Mazatlán from El Faro
- **image shield**: Escudo mazatlan.jpg
- **image map**: Location Mazatlan.png
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: States of Mexico, State
- **subdivision name1**: Sinaloa
- **subdivision type2**: Municipality
- **subdivision name2**: Municipality of Mazatlán, Mazatlán
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Jorge Abel López Sánchez
- **established title**: Settled
- **established date**: May 14, 1531
- **area blank1 title**: Municipality
- **area blank1 sq mi**: 1184.75
- **population as of**: 2005
- **population total**: 352471
- **population blank1 title**: Demonym
- **population blank1**: Mazatleco(a)
- **timezone**: Time in Mexico, MST
- **utc offset**: -7
- **postal code type**: Postal code
- **postal code**: 82000-
- **area code**: 669
- **website**: http://www.mazatlan.gob.mx