Morelia

Human settlements in the Guayangareo Valley in which Morelia is located have been dated back as far as the 7th century. Artifacts found here have shown Teotihuacán culture influence on early cultures in this area. In the 12th century, the Purépecha arrived in the valley. They dominated it politically for the rest of the pre-Hispanic period but did not build any major settlements here. Between the 12th and the 15th centuries, Matlatzincas moved into the area with permission of the Purépechas, who were based around nearby Pátzcuaro Lake. The main Matlatzinca settlement was where Júarez Plaza in the city is today. The Spanish pushed into the Guayangareo Valley between 1525 and 1526, headed by Gonzalo Gómez. In the 1530s, the area was evangelized by Franciscans such as Juan de San Miguel and Antonio de Lisboa. …

Under the Köppen climate classification, Morelia has a subtropical highland climate (abbreviated Cwb on climate maps), with warm-to-hot days and cool nights year round due to its high elevation. Most precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September. Average monthly temperatures are between 14 and 22 °C (57 and 72 °F), with maximum temperatures of 38.3 °C (100.9 °F) in the summer of 1998 and the lowest temperature of −5.2 °C (22.6 °F) in January 1985.

Morelia is three or four hours from Mexico City via the Atlacomulco-Maravatío-Morelia highway and is connected by highways to the states of Mexico, Querétaro, Guanajuato and Jalisco. It is connected to the Michoacán coast via highway 200 that passes through Uruapan to the port of Lázaro Cárdenas. General Francisco Mujica International Airport or Morelia International Airport (IATA: MLM, ICAO: MMMM) is an international airport at Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. The airport handles both domestic and international flights, with connections to Mexico City, Uruapan, Lázaro Cárdenas, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and several destinations in the United States. The airport is named after a former governor of the state of Michoacán.

The city of Morelia is the most populous city in the state of Michoacán and the third most important in the Bajío Region, just behind León de Los Aldama and Querétaro City. In the most recent census carried out by Inegi in 2020 the city registered a population of 743,275 inhabitants, an increase of almost 145,000 inhabitants over the previous census carried out in 2010 when it had a population of 597,511.