| Santa María del Oro | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality and town |
| Motto: | Honestidad y Trabajo (Honesty and Work) |
| Mapsize: | 200px |
| Pushpin Map: | Mexico |
| Pushpin Label Position: | above |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Mexico |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Mexico |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jalisco |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Santa María del Oro |
| Government Type: | Municipal |
| Leader Title: | Municipal president |
| Established Title: | Its name was then Santa María de Guadalupe (turned a political commyssaryship of the Municipality of Jilotlán de los Dolores) |
| Established Date: | 1 October 1889 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated as Manuel M. Diéguez Municipality |
| Established Date2: | 6 January 1939 |
| Established Title3: | Name of municipal seat changed to Santa María del Oro |
| Established Date3: | 5 February 1997 |
| Established Title4: | Name of municipality changed to Santa María del Oro |
| Established Date4: | 11 April 1999 |
| Area Total Km2: | 776.4 |
| Area Blank1 Title: | Town |
| Area Blank1 Km2: | 0.44 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 census |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] [2] [3] |
| Population Total: | 1815 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Town |
| Population Blank1: | 666 |
| Population Density Blank1 Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Central Standard Time |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | Central Daylight Time |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Coordinates: | 19.5872°N -102.9097°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 49970 |
Santa María del Oro is a town and municipality, in the Southeastern Region of Jalisco, in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 776.4 km2.
As of 2020, the municipality had a total population of 1,815.[4]
Before the Conquest of Mexico (1519–1521), this region was inhabited by Purépecha or Tarascan indigenous people, who had been defeated in the Saltpeter War (1480–1510) (Guerra del Salitre). Later it became a ranch called La Teja, which belonged to Ramón Ochoa, originally from Quitupan. It was part of the indigenous ejido of Jilotlán.
In 1810, to the north of the town, the La Jarana sugarcane mill was in feverish activity, which stopped working during the Mexican War of Independence. Both the previous mill and the Real de Oro mining center belonged to some Spaniards who lived in Cotija, Michoacán. These sources of work gave life to the region. There were more than twenty mines in operation and in the Real de Oro, which had blast furnaces, silver and gold minerals were processed. The machinery was powered by the water that came from a dam that is located metres above. The gold and silver bars they obtained were continuously transported in large caravans to Mexico City. Such important sources of work had a bad end. The Spaniards resisted with the aid of royalist forces, the attacks of the insurgency, until 1812, the year in which any defense became impossible and then they decided to take refuge in Cotija provisionally, but later they were surprised and beheaded in Santa María del Oro. At the beginning of the 20th century, some Americans resumed work on the Real del Oro. Now, only ruins remain.
On 23 November 1883, the small town was elevated to vicariate of the Real del Oro de Huilamba, later being called Santa María del Oro.
It received the name of Manuel M. Diéguez when the municipality was erected on 6 January 1939 in memory of the revolutionary and state governor, according to Decree number 4465.
By Decree number 16475 of the State Congress it was authorized the change of name of the municipality of Manuel M. Diéguez to Santa María del Oro. This provision was authorized on 20 December 1996 and was published in the Official Newspaper El Estado de Jalisco (The State of Jalisco), on 4 February 1997, to enter into force the following day.
By Decree number 17837 of the State Congress, published on 10 April 1999, the name of the municipality of Manuel M. Diéguez was changed to that of Santa María del Oro, Jalisco.
The region abounds with yacatas,[5] mounds of earth or little "pyramids". They were built by excavating wells, approximately 4 metres in diameter, which were filled with large river stones and form a mound on the surface.
Santa María del Oro is located in the southeastern part of Jalisco between the geographic coordinates 19° 24' 15" and 19° 42' 30" North latitude, and 102° 32' 10" and 103° 03' 30" West longitude, at an altitude of 3182 feet (970 meters) above sea level.
The municipality borders to the north with the municipalities of Valle de Juárez and Quitupan, and the state of Michoacán; to the east with the state of Michoacán; to the south with the municipality of Jilotlán de los Dolores; and to the west with the municipality of Tamazula de Gordiano.
Its surface is made up of rugged areas (39 %), with heights ranging from 3281 to 5413 feet asl (1000 to 1,650 m). Some of the hills located in the municipality are the following: El Burro, El Cantón, El Candelero, Cerro Alto, Los Truncos, and Del Sombrero, as well as a ravine named Barranca de Milpillas; there are also semi-flat areas (23 %) and flat areas (38 %).
The territory is made up of land belonging to the Quaternary period. The composition of the soils is of predominant types cromic and eutric cambisol, added in some part with haplic feozem, and in other higher parts the lithosol is located. The municipality has a land area of 104,400 acres (42,249 hectares), of which 25,452 (10,300) are used for agricultural purposes, 30,606 (12,386) for livestock activities, 43,708 (17,688) are for forest use, and 35 acres (14 hectares) are urban land, the use of 4,599 (1,861) not being specified. As far as property is concerned, an extension of 83,613 acres (33,837 hectares) is private and another of 15,694 (6,351) is ejidal; there is no communal property. The type of property for 5,093 acres (2,061 hectares) has not been specified.
The hydrological resources are provided by the rivers: Itzícuaro, Canela, Oro, Hornos, Plátanos, Agostadero, and Horcones. The streams are: Los Bordones, Calaquio, Los Toros, La Chimenea, La Preñada, Barranca del Alnaco, Barranca del Llano, Juan Pablo, La Huerta, and El Granadillo. In addition to having three hot water springs.
The climate is semi-dry, with dry autumn, winter and spring, and warm, without well-defined winter thermal changes. The average annual temperature is 75 °F (24 °C), with a maximum of 88.5 °F (31.4 °C) and a minimum of 62 °F (16.6 °C). The rainfall regime is during July and August, with an average rainfall of 1,075.1 millimeters. The prevailing winds are from the southwest.
Its vegetation is made up of wooded areas where species such as oak, ash tree and cold tropical species and a wide variety of fruit trees are located.
There are opossums, badgers, foxes, rabbits, coyotes, deers, and skunks, existing a great variety of birds.
Livestock: cattle, sheep, horses, goats, and pigs are raised. In addition to poultry and beehives. Agriculture: corn, sorghum, and agave stand out. Commerce: establishments dedicated to the sale of basic necessities and mixed shops that sell various items predominate. Services: professional, technical, community, personal and maintenance services are provided. Industry: the main industrial activity is the manufacture of cheese. Mining: there are deposits of gold, silver, and copper. Forest exploitation: oak and ash tree are exploited.
Religious feasts
| Municipal president | width=90px | Term | width=90x | Political party | width=190px | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermila Vargas de Farías[7] [8] [9] | 01-01-1983–31-12-1985 | |||||
| Arturo Facundo Ramírez | 01-01-1986–31-12-1988 | PRI | ||||
| Ángel Zamorano Chavarín[10] | 01-01-1989–1992 | PRI | ||||
| Audón Sánchez Ochoa[11] | 1992–1995 | PRI | ||||
| Jesús Mendoza Valencia[12] | 1995–1997 | |||||
| Luis Sandoval García[13] | 01-01-1998–31-12-2000 | PAN | ||||
| Fernando Farías Carranza[14] | 01-01-2001–31-12-2003 | PAN | ||||
| Odocio Sandoval García[15] | 01-01-2004–31-12-2006 | PAN | ||||
| Audel Ochoa Pérez[16] [17] | 01-01-2007–31-12-2009 | PAN | ||||
| Rafael López Núñez[18] | 01-01-2010–30-09-2012 | Coalition "Alliance for Jalisco" | ||||
| María Araceli Espinoza González[19] | 01-10-2012–30-09-2015 | Coalition "Compromise for Jalisco" | ||||
| Eleazar Medina Chávez[20] | 01-10-2015–30-09-2018 | PRI | ||||
| Guadalupe Sandoval Farías[21] | 01-10-2018–30-09-2021 | PRI | ||||
| Guadalupe Sandoval Farías[22] | 01-10-2021– | PRI | Was reelected on 6 June 2021 |