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Torreón

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This article is about the city in Mexico. For other uses, see Torreon (disambiguation).
Torreón
Municipal seat
Coat of arms of Torreón
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
La Perla de La Laguna
Country Mexico
StateCoahuila
MunicipalityTorreon
EstablishedSeptember 25, 1893
Government
 • MayorEduardo Olmos Castro (PRI) (2010-2013)
Population
 (2010)
 • Municipal seat608,836
 • Metro
1,215,993
 [citation needed]
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
WebsiteOfficial site
La fuente del pensador. The thinkers fountain
Canal de la Perla.
Bosque Venustiano Carranza.

Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. [citation needed] The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango, was 1,215,993. [citation needed] It is the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in the country and is one of Mexico's most important economic and industrial centers. Torreón is served by Francisco Sarabia International Airport, a small airport with flights to several cities in Mexico and the United States.

History

According to archaeological findings, the area of Torreón was populated around the 10th millennium BC.

The first Spanish mission arrived in 1566, led by Fr. Pedro Espinareda. However, the city developed only in the independent Mexican era, around a Torreón ("Big Tower") built to monitor Río Nazas's floods, in conjunction with the creation of a railroad connecting to the US border. The population grew from 200 in 1892 to 34,000 in 1910. Torreón received city status in 1907.

On September 15, 2007, Torreón celebrated their first 100 years as a chartered city. They held a series of cultural events from September 15, 2006 to September 15, 2007, culminating on the day that the city turned 100 years old.

Geography and climate

"El Torreón".

Torreón is situated near the southwest border of the state of Coahuila, within the Laguna region of the state. The border is delineated by the Nazas River that separates it from Gómez Palacio, Durango. The municipality covers 1,947.7 km2 (752.0 sq mi), including much of the rural area south of the city. Its elevation is over 1,000 m (3,280 ft), which is low for the Mexican interior. The terrain where the urban area is spread is generally flat, whith somewhat prominent relief formations (up to 1,600 m (5,249 ft) located south and southwest of the city, thus visible at well-nigh any given point in the city. Higher mountains, over 3,000 m (9,843 ft), can be found on the southern, mostly uninhabited section of the Municipality, the most prominent being El Picacho.

The cities of Torreón, Gómez Palacio, and Lerdo compose La Laguna (The Lagoon) or Comarca Lagunera, a basin within the Chihuahuan Desert, which has much economic activity. The name of the region stems from three nearby, and now dry lagoons, the Lagoon of Mayran, the Lagoon of Tlahualilo and the Lagoon of Viesca.

The region's climate is arid: rainfall is scarce but more prominent in summer, whilst temperatures are very hot by day and cool at night, although the urban heat island effect causes temperatures on summer nights to be considerably warmer than nearby areas. Flora and fauna are those common to semidesert habitats.

The city is 56 km (35 mi) southwest of historic San Pedro de las Colonias, where some of the Mexican Revolution fighting occurred.

Climate data for Torreón
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.5
(90.5) 		35.0
(95.0) 		39.5
(103.1) 		40.5
(104.9) 		42.2
(108.0) 		43.0
(109.4) 		39.8
(103.6) 		39.2
(102.6) 		38.0
(100.4) 		36.0
(96.8) 		34.8
(94.6) 		32.5
(90.5) 		43.0
(109.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 22.2
(72.0) 		25.3
(77.5) 		25.6
(78.1) 		32.3
(90.1) 		35.2
(95.4) 		35.3
(95.5) 		34.1
(93.4) 		33.5
(92.3) 		31.8
(89.2) 		29.4
(84.9) 		26.1
(79.0) 		22.7
(72.9) 		29.5
(85.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 6.6
(43.9) 		8.5
(47.3) 		11.9
(53.4) 		15.3
(59.5) 		18.7
(65.7) 		20.6
(69.1) 		20.4
(68.7) 		20.1
(68.2) 		18.6
(65.5) 		15.2
(59.4) 		10.2
(50.4) 		7.3
(45.1) 		14.4
(58.0)
Record low °C (°F) −7
(19) 		−5
(23) 		−5.5
(22.1) 		1.8
(35.2) 		4.0
(39.2) 		10.0
(50.0) 		11.0
(51.8) 		10.0
(50.0) 		7.5
(45.5) 		4.0
(39.2) 		−2.8
(27.0) 		−8
(18) 		−8
(18)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 11.9
(0.47) 		3.6
(0.14) 		1.5
(0.06) 		5.2
(0.20) 		22.3
(0.88) 		35.2
(1.39) 		35.9
(1.41) 		38.6
(1.52) 		43.1
(1.70) 		16.6
(0.65) 		6.7
(0.26) 		11.3
(0.44) 		231.9
(9.12)
Source: Servicio Meteorológico National[1]

Main sights

Cristo de las Noas, at 21.80 m (71.5 ft), is the third tallest statue of Christ in Latin America, only smaller than the statue of Christ The Redeemer in Brazil and Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Situated on the top of a hill, this image of Jesus with extended arms symbolises protection for the inhabitants of Torreon.[2] The hilltop has a Catholic church and offers a view of the entire city.[3]

Economy

The area was originally a center for ranching. With irrigation the city became an important center for support for farming and processing of cotton. The city has industries in textiles, clothing and metals processing. It is close to facilities belonging to Peñoles, a Mexican mining group, and Motores John Deere (Agricultural and Construction machinery engines) among others.

Education

Universities

Torreón and the surrounding comarca are served by several public and private universities. Some of the most recognized institutions in the area are:

  • Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM)
  • TecMilenio University (Universidad TecMilenio, creada por el Tecnológico de Monterrey)
  • Autonomous University of Coahuila (Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, or "UAdeC")
  • Technological Institute of the "Laguna" (Instituto Tecnologico de la Laguna)
  • Autonomous Agrarian University "Antonio Narro" Campus Laguna (Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro Unidad Laguna)
  • Torreon Institute of Technology (Instituto Tecnologico de Torreon)
  • La Salle University - Laguna (Universidad La Salle Laguna- ULSA Laguna)
  • Iberoamerican University - Torreon Campus (Universidad Iberoamericana - Campus Laguna (UIA))
  • Autonomous University of the "Laguna" (Universidad Autonoma de la Laguna)
  • Autonomous University of the Northeast (Universidad Autonoma del Noreste (UANE))
  • Mexico Valley University (Universidad del Valle de Mexico (UVM))
  • Torreon Technological University (Universidad Tecnologica de Torreon)

Sports

Estadio Corona

Torreón has a soccer team in the Primera División de México, Santos Laguna. The team won championships in 1996 and 2001, and its last Championship in the Mexican Primera Division was in June 2008, when it beat Cruz Azul in the Clausura 2008 tournament. The team was near a demotion to a lower division in June 2007, but only one year later reached the top of Mexican soccer. The team has recently moved into a new stadium to meet the growing demands of the fan base. It used to play in Estadio Corona, but now plays in the Territorio Santos Modelo.

Estadio Revolución

The city is also home to a baseball team called Vaqueros Laguna.

Torreón's professional basketball team, Los Algodoneros de Torreon, play in the Auditorio Municipal, which seats approximately 3,000 people. They are members of the LNBP (Liga Nacional de Balconcesto Profesional) which is considered to be the top basketball league in Mexico. On October 2, 2004, in a game played against Durango, Issac Gildea set the all-time scoring record in the LNBP for a single game with 61 points.

Former NFL placekicker and Super Bowl XXI champion, Raul Allegre, is a Torreón native.

Events

Cotton and Grape Fair

The main annual festival in Torreón is the Cotton and Grape Fair (Feria del Algodon y La Uva) which takes place the middle two weeks of every September, with cultural events, music, amusement rides, and bullfighting, located in the old Plaza de Toros and the New Coliseum in Torreón.

Laguna DrumFest

The Laguna DrumFest takes place every October, and includes some of the best drummers in Mexico and from around the world.

Twin towns

Notes

  1. ^ "NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1971-2000". Servicio Meteorológico National. 2011. Retrieved on December 19, 2011.
  2. ^ Travel Torreón. "Cristo de las Noas". Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  3. ^ [dead link]"Cristo de las Noas". Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-17.

References

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