León (), officially León de Los Aldama (English: León of The Aldama), is the most populous city and municipal seat of the municipality of León in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. In the 2020 Intercensal Survey, INEGI reported 1,721,626 people living in the municipality of León, making it the fourth-most populous municipality in Mexico. The metropolitan area of León recorded a population of 2,140,094 in the 2020 state Census, making it the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Mexico. León is part of the macroregion of Bajío within the Central Mexican Plateau.
León has a large leather industry, making shoes, boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories for national and international markets. The leather industry earned its inhabitants the nickname of "green belly" (panzaverde in Spanish) because of the green tainting in the workers' bodies resulting from treating leather. Its first-class services and hotel industry make it an important commercial center in Mexico with numerous options for entertainment, gastronomy, leisure activities, arts, and recreation. It is also considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Mexico and has a high number of cyclists, in part because of integrating a network of bike lanes into the SIT system. In March 2012, it received an award as "City Water Champion", mainly due to great progress in the areas of sanitation, wastewater reuse, and energy cogeneration from biogas.
Geography
Climate
Leon generally has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) with summer rainfall (according to Köppen climate classification, Cwa) that closely borders on a semi-arid climate. The average annual temperature is , the warmest month is May with a maximum average of , and the coolest month is January with a minimum average temperature of . Outside the city microclimate island, the ranges tend to be higher, with maximum averages reaching 2 °C higher than in the city, and minimum averages lowered by 3 °C or more. In the villages located in between the northern mountains the climate changes; it is considered subtropical highland climate (Cwb according to Köppen climate classification), the average annual temperature is around .
Leon averages of precipitation annually, which mainly occurs during the summer and early autumn (from late May through October) generally with thunderstorms in the evening. There is usually a discrepancy about whether Leon's valley is either sub-humid or semi-arid. Depending on the methodology, it can be considered as being either one or the other. With Köppen's methodology, there needs to be more than of annual precipitation for Leon to be considered as humid subtropical; according to several weather stations it may have both (humid subtropical and semiarid) terminologies applied to it. The years considered in the study may also be a determinant factor (more frequently used for international purposes is a 30-year data compilation). Years of average rainfall are rare; the usual pattern is bi-modal, with some large string of dry years usually related to La Niña phenomenon (slightly higher than ) followed by other years (around 5) related to El Niño that make up the average (with higher than ). Snowfall is extremely rare. The latest snowfall recorded in Leon was in 1997, although there have been other years of registered slushy snow since 1997.
Cityscape
Economy
The city of Leon is well known for its leather and footwear industry. But in the last decade, the city has also developed important economic activity in the automotive industry.
Industrial parks
About 70 percent of all shoes made in Mexico come from León and the surrounding area. In addition to the leather works, there are also industrial chemical, plastic, polymer, transportation, and container companies. The presence of the automotive industry includes a General Motors plant in the nearby municipality of Silao. In the financial sector, León is home to the national headquarters of Banco del Bajío, owned by Salvador Oñate, and to the regional headquarters of Banamex and HSBC, among other banks.
Customs facility
A newly built facility within GTO Inland Port's premises speeds up the logistics process. Clearing customs in a border city or seaport is no longer a requirement for companies located in GTO Inland Port; now they use this very convenient facility.
Rail container facility
A rail container yard is now offering inter-modal services for rail transportation. The facility is operated by the largest rail company in Mexico and has one of the longest rail spurs in the country.