The municipality is located north of Mexico City.7 San Cristóbal Ecatepec, the municipal seat, has governing jurisdiction over the communities of San Pedro Xoloxtoc, Tulpetlac, Chiconautla, Ciudad Azteca, and Villa de Aragón. It has an area of 156.2 square kilometres (60.3 sq mi)8 and borders the municipalities of Tlalnepantla de Baz, Tecámac, Coacalco de Berriozábal, Jaltenco, Acolman, Texcoco, Atenco, and Nezahualcóyotl and the Mexico City borough of Gustavo A. Madero.
The settlements in Ecatepec de Morelos are located in an elongated valley, spreading from the Valley of Mexico to Sierra de Guadalupe.
Most of the local flora and fauna live in the Sierra de Guadalupe. Animals include small mammals, like mice, rabbits, gray squirrels, and gophers, and birds, such as cenzontles and sparrows. There are no large animals. The flora includes oyamel pines, oaks, ocote pines, century plants, prickly pears, and zacatón (mountain grass).9
Remains of the earliest human habitation of the area have been found on the nearby Cerro de Ecatepec (Hill of Ecatepec). The area was settled by successive waves of Otomis; however, because of the later arrival of Toltec-Chichimecas that dominated the rest of the Valley of Mexico, the area eventually assimilated to the rest of the Valley, ending with its domination by the Aztec Empire.10 Ecatepec was an Aztec altepetl, or city-state.
From 1428 to 1539, Ecatepec was ruled by a tlatoani (pl. tlatoque), or "speaker". The tlatoque of Ecatepec were closely related to the ruling dynasty of Tenochtitlan.11 Notable tlatoque include:
During the Aztec empire, the Mexicas used the town to control trade routes going north.12
Ecatepec was considered a "República de Indios" (Indian Republic) in 1560, allowing it to maintain some autonomy and keeping the succession of tlatoanis or chiefs. However, in the first part of the 17th century this was changed to a mayorship, with the Spanish administrating, along with the communities of Zumpango and Xalostoc.13
National hero José María Morelos y Pavón was executed in Ecatepec in 1815 by the Spanish Army during the Mexican War of Independence. The house in which he was executed is now a museum, Museo Casa de Morelos.
The municipality was officially created on October 13, 1874.14 On October 1, 1877, San Cristóbal Ecatepec was declared a village and "de Morelos" was added to its name.15
Ecatepec experienced exponential population growth from 1970, as a result of rural migration to the Valley of Mexico. The seat was declared a city on December 1, 1980,16 and, by 2010, it had become the most populated municipality in the country. Population growth has stagnated since then.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ecatepec is the newest in the country, erected on June 28, 1995, around the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Cathedral.17
In April 1995, the remains of a mammoth were found in Colonia Ejidos de San Cristóbal, where the ancient lakes of Xaltocan-Ecatepec and Texcoco came together and where the Aztecs build a dam to keep the fresh and salty waters separate. The bones were dated to around 10,500 BC.18
In February 2016, Pope Francis celebrated mass in the city in front of a crowd of 300,000. The Pope's message was one of encouragement and opposition to the violence and drug trade in the region.19
Almost all of the population (99.9%) of the municipality lives in San Cristóbal Ecatepec, the third most-populous city in Mexico. There are also three rural localities in the municipality.20
Ecatepec is an industrial center. Manufacturing, commerce, and services are the main pillars of the economy.21 Jumex has its headquarters in the city.2223
Two regional shopping malls, Plaza Las Américas and Multiplaza Aragón (Mexico's busiest as of 2018),24 both with multiple hypermarket and department store anchors, are located in Ecatepec.
Ecatepec, due to its population density, is one of the municipalities with the highest levels of infrastructure in the State of Mexico.
Ecatepec is a necessary path from Mexico City towards several other states in Mexico, such as Hidalgo. Its principal regional roadways are:
Ecatepec is served by Line B of the Mexico City Metro system, including the stations of Muzquiz, Ecatepec (a.k.a. Tecnológico), Olímpica, Plaza Aragón, and Ciudad Azteca.2627
Mexibús bus rapid transit serving the State of Mexico serves Ecatepec with:
In 2016, a new form of public transportation started serving Ecatepec residents: Mexicable, an aerial cable car whose main purpose is to help residents get around faster (as opposed to being a tourist attraction), especially in areas with numerous hills and valleys without adequate bridges and viaducts. Mexicable Line 1, the first cable car built in Mexico as a form of public transportation, has 190 cars traveling a length of almost 5 kilometers (3 miles); it takes about 17 minutes to ride along the entire line.28 Line 1 connects Santa Clara with La Cañada via Hank González station. At Hank González station Mexicable Line 2 runs to Indios Verdes, a main hub for bus rapid transit (Metrobús and Mexibús), city bus, pesero minibus, metro, and regional buses.
Ecatepec is located on Fed 85, the Mexico City–Pachuca highway, Fed 57/Fed 57D (Circuito Exterior Mexiquense), and Fed 132 (Ecatepec–Teotihuacán highway).
29
"Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 - SCITEL" (in Spanish). INEGI. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021. https://www.inegi.org.mx/app/scitel/Default?ev=9 ↩
"Historia de Ecatepec". Ecatepec.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20201007115317/http://www.ecatepec.com/historiaecatepec.htm/ ↩
""Multiplaza Aragón se consagra como el centro comercial más visitado de Méxiso en 2018" ("Multiplaza Aragón is recognized as the busiest mall in Mexico in 2018"), Fashion Network (Mexico)". February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022. https://mx.fashionnetwork.com/news/Multiplaza-aragon-se-consagra-como-el-centro-comercial-mas-visitado-de-mexico-en-2018,1063204.html ↩
"Ecatepec de Morelos municipality" (PDF). 3.inegi.org.mx. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20160528160516/http://www3.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/mexicocifras/datos-geograficos/15/15033.pdf ↩
"México en cifras - Medio Ambenciente - Estado de México" (in Spanish). INEGI. January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021. https://www.inegi.org.mx/app/areasgeograficas/default.aspx ↩
"Estado de México - Ecatepec". Inafed.gob.mx. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20200916211137/http://www.inafed.gob.mx/work/enciclopedia/EMM15mexico/municipios/15033a.html ↩
"Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México Estado de Mexico Ecatepec". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031557/http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/mexico/mpios/15033a.htm ↩
Explorations in ethnohistory: Indians of central Mexico in the sixteenth century by H. R. Harvey, Hanns J. Prem ↩
"Diocese of Ecatepec". Catholic Hierarchy. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2021. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/decat.html ↩
"Pope Francis warns Mexico City crowd against 'dialogue with the devil'". The Guardian. 14 February 2016. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/14/pope-francis-warns-mexico-city-crowd-against-dialogue-with-the-devil ↩
"Ecatepec de Morelos". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021. https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ecatepec-de-morelos ↩
"Contacto Archived 2014-02-09 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). Jumex. Retrieved on May 27, 2014. "Antigua Carretera Mexico Pachuca, Km 12.5 Xalostoc Estado De Mexico, CP 55340" http://www.jumex.com/index.php/es/contacto ↩
"Aviso de privacidad" (Archive). Jumex. Retrieved on May 27, 2014. "[...]GRUPO JUMEX, S.A. de C.V., con domicilio en Carretera México-Pachuca KM 12.5, Colonia Rústica Xalostoc, Ecatepec de Morelos, Estado de México, C.P. 55340, México" http://www.jumex.com/privacidad.html ↩
"Carlos Hank report – Noticias Carlos Hank". carloshankreport.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023. https://carloshankreport.com/ ↩
"Ecatepec". Metro.df.gob.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120825150158/http://www.metro.df.gob.mx/red/estacion.html?id=135 ↩
Archambault, Richard. "Ecatepec » Mexico City Metro System". Mexicometro.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2011. http://mexicometro.org/metro/lineb/ecatepec/ ↩
"President inaugurates cable car system". Mexico News Daily. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2017. http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/president-inaugurates-cable-car-system/ ↩
"The Medical Blog". Multilingualarchive.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20120211082657/http://www.multilingualarchive.com/ma/enwiki/es/Caracas#Sister_cities ↩
"Municipio de Guadalupe, Zacatecas - Ciudades Hermanas". Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120429194707/http://www.guadalupe-zacatecas.gob.mx/index.php/component/k2/item/76 ↩
"Organización Editorial Mexicana". Oem.com.mx. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20201007115357/https://www.oem.com.mx/oem// ↩
"Convenios Nacionales e Internacionales". msj.go.cr (in Spanish). San José. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211210172710/https://www.msj.go.cr/MSJ/DatosAbiertos/SitePages/convenios.aspx?RootFolder=%2FMSJ%2FDatosAbiertos%2FConvenios%2FConvenios+Internacionales&FolderCTID=0x0120008FA8511F9896704EA35AC70B261E688C&View=%7B6E0D3BF9-77C4-48A3-9417-E271281875B6%7D7 ↩
"Cooperação Internacional". guarulhos.sp.gov.br (in Portuguese). Guarulhos. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020. https://www.guarulhos.sp.gov.br/index.php/cooperacao-internacional ↩