Toluca

Toluca city or Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of both the State of Mexico and its surrounding municipality.

Etymology

The name comes from Nahuatl and means "place of god Tolloh", named Tollohcan, although both the town and municipality are commonly referred to as simply "Toluca". According to the studies of Cecilio Robelo, Toluca means 'where the god Tolo is' or 'hill of the god Tolo' or 'place of the god Tolo'. Its grammatical roots are toloqui, from toloa, 'to bow or lower the head'.

In 1861 by decree of the local legislature, the municipality took the official name of Toluca de Lerdo, in memory of the politician Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada who was still alive at that time.

Nzehñi in Otomi language, Imbomáani in Matlatzinca language, Zúmi in Mazahua language and Tsindijets in Tlahuica language.

History
The first human settlements on these lands date back to 1,200 BC, according to information provided by the Museum of Anthropology and History, located in the Ex-Hacienda La Pila, in San Buenaventura.

Geography
The Lerma River flows from Lake Almoloya del Río through the center of the municipality towards the west, flowing into Lake Chapala. From this point westward the river takes the name of Río Grande de Santiago in Jalisco. The river is about  long; about 60% of it is known as Lerma River and 40% as Santiago River. 

The Nevado de Toluca or Xinantécatl is  southwest of the city. The god Tolo was supposed to reside in the volcano's crater. Its original indigenous name was Chiknauhtekatl which means "Nine Mountains" but later was named Xinantecatl which means "naked man", because the silhouette of its crater resembles a sleeping man, before the Spaniards named it Nevado, meaning "snow-covered". It is a place of increasing sporting activity, such as mountain biking, climbing, and high altitude running. Zopilocalco hill is in Toluca City, near of Martíres Main Plaza.

Climate
The climate in Toluca is prone to extended dry periods particularly in the winter. Almost nine-tenths of the annual rainfall occurs between June and September. Just outside the heavily industrialized city, the municipality has forests with oak, pine, fir, cedar, cypress and other flora, characteristic of the temperate zone of central Mexico.

Twin towns
Toluca is twin town with:

 Caparroso, Spain
 Cartago, Costa Rica
 Debrecen, Hungary
 Fort Worth, United States
 Nanchang, China
 Novi Sad, Serbia
 Ramallah and al-Bireh, Palestine
 Saitama, Japan
 Suwon, South Korea
 La Vega, Dominican Republic

Related pages
 Toluca Municipality

References

Other websites


Category:1522 establishments in Mexico
Category:Municipality seats in Mexico (state)