Colima (city)

Colima is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. This article is about the city. For the state, see: state of Colima.

There is also the Colima Volcano.

The city of Colima, Colima is the capital and main city of the state of the same name.

History

It is one of the oldest cities in Mexico, after Veracruz, Veracruz, and Mexico City.

Following the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish conquistadors were quick to reach the west coast. Colima's native king (Spanish: Rey Colimán) organized the defense of his kingdom against the Spanish. [1]

In 1523 the conquistador Gonzalo de Sandoval founded the first Villa de Colima in Caxitlán, near modern-day Tecomán. However, poor settlement conditions resulted in the founding of the Villa San Sebastián de Colima in what is now the city of Colima. [2] The new location provided a better climate, lands better suited to cultivation, and proximity to mining.

Disasters

A January 2003 earthquake measuring 7.8 in magnitude caused extensive damage and claimed at least 24 lives in both Colima and neighboring Jalisco state.

Demographics

In 2003 the city had an estimated population of about 125,400 people.

Climate

The mean annual temperature is 25°C. The annual precipitation is from 63.7 to 94.9 mm, a majority of that being recorded from August to September.

Airport

The Colima airport is located in the municipality of Cuauhtemoc. Avolar, Aerocalifornia and Aerolitoral all offer service.

Trivia

• The momument to El Rey Colimán was sculpted by Juan F Olaguibel [3] and erected in 1955 in the southern part of the city. [4]
• The city is widely known as the City of the Palms. [5]