What is "penamiller"

Peñamiller is a town in Peñamiller Municipality in the Mexican state of Querétaro. It is part of the Sierra Gorda region with about eighty percent of the territory belonging to the Sierra Gorda Biosphere of Querétaro. The municipality is on the southwest side of the Sierra Gorda, the highest mountains of which block most of the moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason, most of the territory is arid, part of what is called the Querétaro “semi-desert” filled with cactus. There is a small portion on the far east side which has temperate forests and bodies of water, mostly related to the Extoraz River, in which fish are raised. The name of the town and municipality comes from a mountain called “El Picacho” but reminded town founder José de Escandón of the Peña Mellera in Spain. Over time, the name morphed into Peñamiller.