Gómez Palacio, Durango

Gómez Palacio is a city and its surrounding municipality in northeastern Durango, Mexico, adjacent to the border of the state of Coahuila. The city is named in honor of former Durango governor, Francisco Gómez Palacio y Bravo.

As of 2010, the city of Gómez Palacio had a population of 975,892, up from 779,842 as of 2005, making it the state's second-largest community. The municipality (including the city) population was 827,985. The municipality's area is 990.2 square kilometres (382.3 sq mi). The municipality and city are part of a large metropolitan area, which includes Torreón Municipality and Matamoros Municipality in Coahuila, as well as Lerdo Municipality in Durango. The metropolitan area had an official population of 3,220,980 persons in 2009.

History

From the first half of the seventeenth century, the land within the triangle formed by San Juan de Casta (now Leon Guzman), Santiago de Mapimí (Mapimí) and Santa Maria de las Parras (Parras), formed part of the property of the Marquis of Aguayo and named Hacienda de San Lorenzo de la Laguna.