Durango, officially called Victoria de Durango and also known as the City of Durango, is a city in Mexico, capital of the state of Durango. It is located in the north of the Mexican Republic. Durango is the most populated and extensive city of the homonymous state. It was founded on July 8,1563 by Francisco de Ibarra with the name of Villa de Durango. The first layout of the city was made by Alonso de Pacheco. The foundation of the city originated due to its proximity to the Cerro de Mercado, which was believed to contain large amounts of silver, however with time it was discovered that it was an important iron deposit.
This hill owes its name to Captain Ginés Vázquez de Mercado, who discovered the valley in his explorations of northern Mexico. The Historical Center of the city contains the largest number of historical properties cataloged in the north of the country by the INAH and is also part of the set of cities and towns in the "Camino Real de Tierra Adentro", declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010. Its official name is Victoria de Durango, the denomination of "Victoria" was added in honor of Guadalupe Victoria, first president of Mexico originally from Tamazula, Durango. The etymological meaning of Durango is "beyond the water", it comes from the Basque language. Francisco de Ibarra named it in memory of the town of Durango, in the Spanish province of Vizcaya, Basque Country.
In the Tepehuan language the locality is known as the Korián and Nahuatl, the locality was known as Analco.