|
Altitude and Geographic Coordinates
Table 1: Altitude and geographic coordinates of major municipalities.
|
Municipality |
Altitude
(m.s.n.m)* |
Latitude |
Longitude |
|
Acuña |
280 |
29° 19’ |
100° 56’ |
|
Frontera |
590 |
26° 56’ |
101° 27’ |
|
Monclova |
600 |
26° 54’ |
101° 25’ |
|
Piedras Negras |
250 |
28° 42’ |
100° 31’ |
|
Ramos Arizpe |
1,380 |
25° 32’ |
100° 57’ |
|
Sabinas |
330 |
27° 52’ |
101° 07’ |
|
Saltillo |
1,600 |
25° 25’ |
101° 00’ |
|
Torreón |
1,120 |
25° 32’ |
103° 27’ |
SOURCE: Anuario Estadístico del Estado de Coahuila. INEGI 2003.
*meters above sea level.
General Information
Climate
The state of Coahuila has primarily a desert climate. In 2002, that state had an average temperature of 21.5°C and precipitation of 332.6 mm.
SOURCE: National Water Commission (CNA). 2002.
Mm. Measurement in millimeters.
Demographics
Table 3: Population by region and distribution by sex.
|
Region |
Total
Population |
Men |
Women |
|
Coal Producing |
160,508 |
79,540 |
80,968 |
|
Central – Desert |
348,449 |
173,739 |
174,710 |
|
Lake |
775,305 |
379,526 |
395,779 |
|
North |
321,880 |
162,341 |
159,539 |
|
Southeast |
691,928 |
345,049 |
346,879 |
|
Total |
2’298,070 |
1’140,195 |
1’157,875 |
SOURCE: XII General Census of Population and Housing. INEGI 2000.
Infrastructure
Airports
Coahuila has five international airports, one domestic airport, and one landing strip, all of which are located in various regions in the country according to the following:
The International Airport “Plan de Guadalupe” is in the southeastern region of Coahuila, offering two daily national flights to Mexico City and one daily international flight to Houston, Texas. Those flights are offered seven days a week.
The International Airport “Francisco Sarabia” is in the lake region, located on the Torreón-San Pedro Highway, offering approximately 26 daily flights to the following cities: Mexico City, Mex.; Monterrey, N.L.; Guadalajara, Jal.; Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, Chih.; Mazatlán and Culiacán, Sin.; Tijuana, Baja California; and Durango, Dur., among others.
The International Airport “Venustiano Carranza” is located in the central-desert region, located in the Frontera municipality, offering one flight Monday through Friday to Monterrey, N.L., and one flight Sunday through Friday to Piedras Negras, Coah. There is also one daily international flight to Houston, Texas.
The International Airport “Piedras Negras” is in the northern region of Coahuila, located in the Piedras Negras municipality, offering three daily flights to Monterrey, N.L. In the Acuña municipality, there is an international airport that does not yet offer commercial flights. It does, however, have the infrastructure to receive freight and commercial flights upon prior flight request.
The coal-producing region has an airport located in the Sabinas municipality that is considered a domestic airport. It currently has no commercial flights. Additionally, there is a landing strip for private flights and an air taxi service located in the Múzquiz municipality.
Railroads
In the state of Coahuila, railroad service is provided by the companies Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), and Línea Coahuila Durango (LCD).
The railroad stations are situated in the following locations:
Southeast Region, at General Cepeda, Saltillo and Ramos Arizpe.
Lake Region, on Francisco I. Madero, San Pedro, Torreón and Viesca.
Central-Desert Region, at Cuatro Ciénegas, Escobedo, Frontera, Lamadrid, Castaños, Nadadores, and Sierra Mojada.
Northern Region, at Allende, Jiménez, Morelos, Nava, Piedras Negras, and Zaragoza
Coal-Producing region, at Múzquiz, Sabinas, and San Juan de Sabinas.
International Bridges
It is also important to mention the international bridges that are located in the northern portion of Coahuila; there are currently three international bridges for vehicles and one for railroads.
International Bridge Piedras Negras I “General Carlos Pacheco”: This bridge connects to Eagle Pass, Tex., and is 564.81 meters long and 10.97 meters wide (including the sidewalks).
International Bridge Piedras Negras II “Camino Real Coahuila 2000”: This bridge connects Piedras Negras to Eagle Pass, and it has been classified by the U.S. Congress as physically and logistically without problems, according to their GAO/NSIAD-00-25 study. This makes it one of two international bridges considered “without defects" along the U.S.-Mexico border. The bridge is 397.64 meters long and 25 meters wide (including sidewalks).
International Railroad Bridge “Charles Fisby”: It is 16”10’ (5.1308 meters) high, 11”8’ wide (3.556 meters), and the distance from landing dock to landing dock on both sides of the border is 15” (4.572 meters). Its length on the Mexican side is 580”20’ (177.292 meters) and 619”8’ (188.8744 meters) on the American side.
“Acuña” International Bridge: This bridge connects to Del Rio, Tex., and has complete customs services and parking areas.
The four bridges along the border make transit easier and help diminish the time it takes to get across to the United States. Piedras Negras and Acuña have more than enough capacity to serve the huge number of vehicles that cross from Mexico into the United States and vice versa.
Economic Environment
The major economic activities of the state are the industries of manufacturing, commerce, services, construction, and mining, among others.
Labor force
This region has a labor force that is specialized primarily in the maquiladora industry and in the metal-mechanical area. Furthermore, the members of the labor force in this region are generally members of the unions, Confederación de Trabajadores Mexicanos (CTM) and Confederación Revolucionaria de Obreros y Campesinos (CROC), among others. |
|
|
|