SINALOA, a State of Mexico, on the Gulf of California, with a coast line of nearly 400 miles. Area, 27,557 sq.m. Pop. (1 9i 0), 323,642; (1931), 395,618. The surface consists of a narrow coastal zone where tropical conditions prevail, a broad belt of mountainous country covered by the ranges of the Sierra Madre Occidental and their intervening valleys where oak and pine for ests are to be found, and an intervening zone among the foot hills of the Sierra Madre up to an elevation of 2,000ft., where the conditions are subtropical. The State is traversed by numerous streams, the largest of which have broad valleys among the foot hills. The largest of these are the Culiacan, Fuerte and Sinaloa, the last two having short navigable courses across the lowlands.
Rain is plentiful everywhere, except in the extreme north, where the conditions are arid. The climate of the low-lying coast lands is hot ; however, in the mountains it is cool and healthy. Cereals and mezcal are produced on the uplands, and sugar, rum, coffee, tobacco, grape spirits and fruit in the lower zones. There are excellent cotton lands in the State and the production of this staple was largely developed during the American Civil War, but has since declined. In recent years large quantities of tomatoes have been raised, chiefly for the American market. Grazing re ceives considerable attention in the uplands, where the tempera ture is favourable and the pasturage good, and hides are largely exported. Mining, however, is the chief industry, Sinaloa being one of the richest mineral-producing States in the republic. Gold, silver, copper, iron and lead are found. There are also salt deposits and mineral springs. The best-known silver mines are the Rosario, from which about $90,000,00o had been extracted up to the last decade of the i9th century, and the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de los Reyes, discovered early in the i9th century and yielding over $85,000,000 before its close. The forest products
of the State include rubber, resins, cabinet and dye-woods, orchilla and ixtle fibre. Up to the beginning of the loth century Sinaloa had only one short railway, which connected Culiacan with its port Altata. Since then the Mexican branch of the (American) Southern Pacific railway from Nogales to Guaymas has been ex tended south-east along the coast to connect the railways of central Mexico. Sinaloa has excellent natural harbours, only two of which -Mazatlan and Altata-are much used. The Bays of Agiobampo and Topolobampo are prospective railway terminals with fine harbours. The capital of the State is Culiacan Rosales (com monly called Culiacan), on the Culiacan river 39 m. from its port, Altata, at the mouth of the same river, with which it is connected by rail. It is a well-built town, with some thriving manufactures, including cotton goods, cigarettes, liqueurs, etc. It is the see of a bishop and has a fine cathedral. Culiacan (pop. in 1910, 13,527; 1921, 16,034) is the distributing centre for a large district be tween Guaymas and Mazatlan. The next most important town is Mazatlan (pop. one of the leading ports of Mexico on the Pacific coast, and the commercial centre for S. Sinaloa and N. Durango. Other towns are Mocorito (pop. 3,757 in 1921), Sinaloa (pop. 1,666 in 1921), and Fuerte (pop. 2,836 in 1921), all in the N. of the State, Rosario (pop. 7,050 in 1921), and San Ignacio (pop. 1,635 in 1921) in the South.