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The Islas Marías ("Maria Islands") are an archipelago of 4 islands that belong to Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. They are located in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, some 100 km (60 miles) off the coast of the state of Nayarit
Nayarit

Nayarit is one of Political divisions of Mexico and is located on the central west coast, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Nayarit is surrounded by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and Jalisco to the south with the Pacific Ocean bordering it to the west....
. They are part of the municipality (municipio) of San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas, Nayarit

San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit....
. As of 2006, the islands are still being used as a penal colony
Penal colony

A penal colony is a Human settlement used to detain prisoners and generally use them for penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's territories, and on a far larger scale than a prison farm....
. The islands have an aggregate area of 244.970 km². 1116 people lived on Isla María Madre as of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2005.






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The Islas Marías ("Maria Islands") are an archipelago of 4 islands that belong to Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. They are located in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
, some 100 km (60 miles) off the coast of the state of Nayarit
Nayarit

Nayarit is one of Political divisions of Mexico and is located on the central west coast, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Nayarit is surrounded by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and Jalisco to the south with the Pacific Ocean bordering it to the west....
. They are part of the municipality (municipio) of San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas, Nayarit

San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit....
. As of 2006, the islands are still being used as a penal colony
Penal colony

A penal colony is a Human settlement used to detain prisoners and generally use them for penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's territories, and on a far larger scale than a prison farm....
. The islands have an aggregate area of 244.970 km². 1116 people lived on Isla María Madre as of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2005. The other islands are uninhabited. The main settlement is Puerto Balleto, with a population of 602.

Isla María Madre, the northernmost island, is the largest, with a surface area of 145.282 km². It houses the Islas Marías Federal Prison
Islas Marías Federal Prison

The Islas Mar?as Federal Penal Colony is a penitentiary establishment of the Federal Government of Mexico, administered through the Federal Secretariat of Public Security....
 which was established there in 1905. The other two islands are Isla María Magdalena (70.440 km²) and, further south, Isla María Cleofas (19.818 km²). They were named after three women called Mary
Mary

Mary is a common female first name, the English form of Miriam.Mary may refer to the following people:...
 in the Biblical
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
: respectively, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene

Saint Mary Magdalene or Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted Disciple of Jesus....
, and Mary, the wife of Cleopas
Mary, the wife of Cleopas

Mary of Clopas or Cleophas the sister of Saint Joseph, was one of various Marys named in the New Testament.Mary of Clopas is explicitly mentioned only in , where she is among the women present at the Crucifixion:...
.

The smaller island, Isla San Juanito, with an area of 9.105 km² lies off the north coast of Isla María Madre.

The islands are listed from north to south in the following table:

The group was discovered by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a cousin of Hernan Cortez in 1532, who gave them the name Islas Magdalenas.

In addition to prisoners, on Maria Madre island there are employees of diverse institutions of the federal government, such as the Secretariat of Public Education, the Secretariat of the Environment, the Secretariat of Communications and Transport, post office
Servicio Postal Mexicano

File:Correos de mexico logo.gifCorreos de M?xico is the national postal service of Mexico....
, and the Secretariat of the Navy.

Another group of settlers is made up of religious ministers and acolytes of the Catholic Church, nuns of the Order of Social Service, and invited teachers, technicians and their relatives.

The colony is governed by a state official who is both the governor of the islands and chief judge.

The military command is independent of the government and is exercised by an officer of the Mexican Navy.

Populated Places


All populated places of the Islas Marías are on Isla María Madre. They are listed from north to south in the following table:

Each populated center features a different economic activity. The primary population center is Puerto Balleto, the location of the administrative offices and the primary centers of commerce and recreation. It is subdivided into four jefaturas:
  1. Balleto,
  2. Bellavista,
  3. Unit Habitacional Miguel Hidalgo (UHMH),
  4. Primero de Mayo,


See also


  • Tres Marias Raccoon
    Tres Marias Raccoon

    The Tres Marias raccoon is a subspecies of the Raccoon Endemism on the two main islands of the Islas Mar?as, an archipelago off the western coast of the Mexico state of Nayarit....

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