The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has been said that the name derives from the Tarahumara language, meaning "between two waters", other accepted definitions are "place of the holed-rock" or "dry and sandy place". The predominant activity in the city is light industry, in the form of maquiladoras. As of the census of 2005, there were 748,551 people living in the city of Chihuahua, calculations tend to establish that in 2007 there were almost 800,000 people living in Chihuahua and more that one million in its metro area. The racial makeup of the city as of 2005 was 53% White/European, 40% Mestizo, 4% Amerindian, and 3% other. The majority of the population practices Catholicism, but other religious faiths are represented, including Methodists, Baptists and other Christian groups, as well as a small Jewish community.

Chihuahua, one of the richest and the largest states in Mexico, shares a 350 mile long border with Texas, bounded by the Rio Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande River). The main portion of the state consists of a high desert plateau lying from between 4,000 and 4,800 feet above sea level. In the west are the Sierra Madre Occidental, slashed by deep gorges. The state has traditionally been one of agriculture and ranching. With the explosive growth of the maquiladora industry, the State of Chihuahua has become increasingly industrial, particularly the cities of Juarez and its Capital, Ciudad Chihuahua.

Chihuahua is paced in the middle of northern Mexico and along the Rio Grande River. Cd. Chihuahua, 220 miles south of Juarez and the border, is in the lower portion of the state and at the base of the great Chihuahua desert of North America. Cd. Chihuahua rests in a valley that is open to the north and enclosed on the other sides by the Sierra Madre Occidental. The climate is hot and dry almost the entire year. The geography of the city is dominated by three main hills: Cerro Grande, Cerro del Coronel and Santa Rosa, the last of which is fully covered by the city; these three hills appear in the Coat of Arms. The Cerro Grande has a monumental cross that is lighted each Christmas.

Cd. Chihuahua was traditionally a trading center at the edge of the desert where area ranchers would exchange goods. It is still a very active economic center, predominantly one of banking and manufacturing.

Chihuahua is 220 miles directly south of the International crossing at El Paso / Juarez, accessed by a brand new four lane highway capable of handling large truck traffic. It is also 550 miles north to Albuquerque, NM; 950 highway miles to Los Angeles.ss