Official Coat of arms of Chihuahua Mexico Symbol Classic Round Sticker

Chihuahua is a state in northern Mexico with a mainland area of 247,087 square kilometres (95,400.8 sq mi), slightly bigger than the United Kingdom. It is surrounded by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the south-west, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east, and by the U.S. states of Texas to the north-east and New Mexico to the north. Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, and therefore has the nickname El Estado Grande ("The Big State"). Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more forests than any other state. On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state's agricultural production. As of 2005, there were 3.2 million inhabitants of the state. In February 6, 2010, Governor Baeza proposed to moved the three State Powers (Executive, Legislative and Judicial) to Ciudad Juárez in order to face the insecurity problems in the city, but that request was rejected by the State Legislature on February 12. The state also has a large service sector: tourism, banking and high-tech enterprises. One of the most noteable features of Chihuahua is the Barranca del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a spectacular canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Chihuahua played a pivotal role in the Mexican Revolution and was a battleground between revolutionary forces led by Pancho Villa and federal forces. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy soldiers. In Continental Europe, commoners were able to adopt burgher arms. Unlike seals and emblems, coats of arms have a formal description that is expressed as a blazon. In the 21st century, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals (for example several universities have guidelines on how their coats of arms may be used and protect their use). The art of designing, displaying, describing and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry. In the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son; wives and daughters could also bear arms modified to indicate their relation to the current holder of the arms. Undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the original bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference: usually a colour change or the addition of a distinguishing charge. One such charge is the label, which in British usage (outside the Royal Family) is now always the mark of an heir apparent. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents, the use of arms was strictly regulated; few countries continue in this today. This has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called "heraldry". Some other traditions (e.g., Polish heraldry) are less restrictive — allowing, for example, all members of a dynastic house or family to use the same arms, although one or more elements may be reserved to the head of the house. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, and other establishments. According to a design institute article, "The modern logo and corporate livery have evolved from the battle standard and military uniform of mediaeval times". In his book, The Visual Culture of Violence in the Late Middle Ages, Valentin Groebner argues that the images composed on coats of arms are in many cases designed to convey a feeling of power and strength, often in military terms. The author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo. Museums on mediaeval armoury also point out that as emblems they may be viewed as precursors to the corporate logos of modern society, used for group identity formation. Note that not all personal or corporate insignia are heraldic, though they may share many features. For example, flags are used to identify ships (where they are called ensigns), embassies and such, and they use the same colours and designs found in heraldry, but they are not usually considered to be heraldic. A country may have both a national flag and a national coat of arms, and the two may not look alike at all. For example, the flag of Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) has a white saltire on a blue field, but the royal arms of Scotland has a red lion within a double tressure on a gold (or) field. The Great Seal of the United States is often said to be the coat of arms of the United States. The blazon ("Paleways of 13 pieces, argent and gules; a chief, azure") is intentionally to preserve the symbolic number 13. Most American states generally have seals, which fill the role of a coat of arms. However, the state of Vermont (founded as the independant Vermont Republic) follows the American convention of assigning use of a seal for authenticating official state documents and also has its own separate coat of arms. Many American social fraternities and sororities, especially college organisations, use coats of arms in their symbolism. These arms vary widely in their level of adherence to European heraldic tradition. Organisations formed outside the United States with U.S. membership also may have a coat of arms. Roman Catholic dioceses and cathedrals have a coat of arms.