Tijuana [key], city (1990 pop. 698,752), Baja California state, NW Mexico, just south of the U.S. border. It is a gaudy border resort, noted for its racetracks and bullfights. An irrigated agricultural area surrounds the city. During the prohibition era Tijuana gained fame as a wide-open town. It expanded considerably in the wake of a booming tourist trade after World War II, and again in recent years as the border area has become increasingly industrialized. Hundreds of maquiladoras, low-cost foreign-owned manufacturing plants that finish goods for U.S. export, have opened in the region around Tijuana. Apparel, televisions, and motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts are produced.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Mexican Political Geography
