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Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipality, for which the city serves as the municipal seat, is also called Mazatlán. It is located at Template:Coor dm, on the Pacific coast, just across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer". The city was founded in the 1820s. By the mid-1800s, a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed Mazatlan into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873.
Mazatlan, with a population of 340,000 as of 2000, is the second-largest city in the state and Mexico's largest commercial port. It is also a popular tourist destination, its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry plies its trade across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur.
In 2005, Mazatlán hosted the "Serie del Caribe", which is a baseball tournament with teams from México, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.
Every year, Carnival is celebrated during the week before Ash Wednesday. There are a lot of festivities, including the election of a Queen, parades, and balls.
Mazatlan is served by Gral. Rafael Buelna International Airport