Villa de la Paz

Villa de la Paz sits 1,800 metres up on the edge of the Sierra de Catorce, a short hop from Matehuala, and owes everything to one mine. In January 1770 Sebastián de Ichaurrandieta told the authorities he had found a lode he named Nuestra Señora de La Paz, and its ore soon had a name as some of the best in the district.

Nearly a century later, in 1864, the Negociación Minera Santa María de La Paz y Anexas was formed. The company laid its own railway branch, whose first train arrived on November 4, 1892, and the population grew with it; in 1921 the settlement was made a villa. About 3,700 people live in the town today.

The country around is dry, broken sierra: El Fraile rises to 2,500 metres, with La Cobriza, Las Águilas, Dolores and El Muerto close by. There are no real rivers, only streams such as El Mármol and La Boca and a few springs. The climate is mild and dry, averaging 18 °C, with January lows near 3 °C and summer rain. It makes a short stop on the way from Matehuala toward Real de Catorce, a chance to see a mining town that still works as one.