Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🗺️

Nayarit

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Nayarit is a beautiful state located in Mexico.

Nayarit precolombino
Nayarit precolombino

It sits along the western coast of the country. To the west, you can find the Pacific Ocean. The state shares borders with several other places. Sinaloa is to the northwest of Nayarit. Durango is to the north of the state. Zacatecas sits to the northeast of this region. Jalisco is located to the south. Nayarit has a long coastline of 289 kilometers. This coast includes the Marías and Marietas islands.

Sayulita-nanzalview
Sayulita-nanzalview

Many people visit the beaches here for vacation.

The land in Nayarit has many different shapes. The western part has the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. These mountains are very high and broken up. There are even two volcanoes named Ceboruco and Sangangüey.

Cerro de la cruz
Cerro de la cruz

In the northeast, you will find broad tropical plains. These plains are watered by the Río Grande de Santiago. This is the largest river in the state. Other important rivers include the San Pedro Mezquital and the Ameca. You can also find many lagoons here. Some are named Santa María del Oro and Agua Brava. The plants change depending on how high you climb.

Long ago, many different people lived in this area. Some people lived in settlements as early as 520 AD.

Ixtlán
Ixtlán

Indigenous groups like the Huichol and Cora lived here. The name Nayarit comes from the Cora people. It honors a leader named Nayar. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers arrived on the coast. Hernán Cortés was the first European to enter the area. Later, Nuño de Guzmán led Spaniards into the region. This caused many indigenous people to fight back. The last independent Cora groups were joined to Spain in 1722. During colonial times, San Blas was a very busy port.

Jardín de La Contaduría, en San Blas.
Jardín de La Contaduría, en San Blas.

Today, many people live and work in Nayarit. The capital city is Tepic, which has 340,000 people.

Cerro de la cruz
Cerro de la cruz

The whole state has about 1,235,456 people. Most people work in farming or fishing. They grow many things like mangoes, bananas, and coffee. The volcanic soil makes very good coffee.

Agave tequilana 1
Agave tequilana 1

Fishermen catch shrimp, bass, and snapper from the sea.

Shrimp fisherman
Shrimp fisherman

Tourism is also a big part of the economy. People travel to the "Riviera Nayarit" to see the coast. Towns like Sayulita and Punta Mita are very popular.

Casa Tesoro in Punta Mito Mexico
Casa Tesoro in Punta Mito Mexico

You can find many amazing animals in the wild here. The forests are home to hundreds of bird species. You might see a lilac-crowned amazon parrot.

Amazona finschi -Xcaret Eco Park -Mexico-8a
Amazona finschi -Xcaret Eco Park -Mexico-8a

Hummingbirds also fly through the trees. There are 119 different kinds of mammals in the state. You might see a white-tailed deer or a coyote.

Some wild cats like the jaguarundi live here too.

Jaguarundi
Jaguarundi

You can also find colorful snakes and scorpions.

Micrurus tener
Micrurus tener
Bark Scorpion
Bark Scorpion

The state is a very special place for nature lovers.

451 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (26)
File:Morena logo (Mexico).svg
Morena logo (Mexico).svg
File:PT_Party_(Mexico).svg
PT_Party_(Mexico).svg
File:Logo Partido Movimiento Ciudadano (México).svg
Logo Partido Movimiento Ciudadano (México).svg
File:Logo Partido Verde (México).svg
Logo Partido Verde (México).svg
File:Nayarit precolombino.gif
Nayarit precolombino.gif
File:Jardín de La Contaduría, en San Blas..JPG
Jardín de La Contaduría, en San Blas..JPG
File:Sayulita-nanzalview.jpg
Sayulita-nanzalview.jpg
File:Jaguarundi.jpg
Jaguarundi.jpg
File:Micrurus tener.jpg
Micrurus tener.jpg
File:Bark Scorpion.jpg
Bark Scorpion.jpg
File:Aquila chrysaetos Flickr.jpg
Aquila chrysaetos Flickr.jpg
File:Zenaida macroura2.jpg
Zenaida macroura2.jpg

+ 14 more

More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.