Michoacán summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Michoacán.

Michoacán , State, southwestern Mexico. Area: 23,138 sq mi (59,928 sq km). Population: (2020) 4,748,846. Capital: Morelia. Bordering the Pacific Ocean, it rises from a narrow coastal plain to the Sierra Madre. Important cities include Morelia, Uruapan, Zamora, and Pátzcuaro. In the 1530s the Dominican Vasco de Quiroga established the first successful missions among the Tarascan Indians around Lake Pátzcuaro. The state lies in an area of great volcanic activity; Mount Jorullo was formed by an eruption in 1759, and Paricutín was created by an eruption that lasted nearly a decade (1943–52). Michoacán produces a wide range of forest products and tropical crops.

Mexico Summary

Mexico, country of southern North America and the third largest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina. Mexican society is characterized by extremes of wealth and poverty, with a limited middle class wedged between an elite cadre of landowners and investors on the one hand and masses