Place:Durango, Durango, Mexico

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Durango City, officially Victoria de Durango is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. The city, which is located in Northern Mexico has a population of 654,876 as of the 2015 census,^[1] and sits at an altitude of . It is also the municipal seat of the Durango Municipality. The city's official name is Victoria de Durango. The denomination of Victoria was added in honor of the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria, who was originally from the state of Durango. In the Tepehuán language, the city is known as Korian.

The city is located in the Valley of Guadiana and was founded on July 8, 1563, by the Spanish Basque explorer Francisco de Ibarra. During the Spanish colonial era the city was the capital of the Nueva Vizcaya province of New Spain, which consisted mostly of the present day Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua. The foundation of the city originated due to its proximity to the Cerro del Mercado, located in the northern part of the city, which was believed to contain large amounts of silver. However, with time it was discovered that it was an important iron deposit.^[2]

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