Mazatlan is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Mazatl n is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer." The city was founded in 1531. By the mid-1800s a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed Mazatl n into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. Mazatl n, with a population of 352,471 (city) and 403,888 (municipality) as of the 2005 census, is the second-largest city in the state (after Culiac n) and Mexico's largest commercial port. It is also a popular tourist destination,with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry plies its trade across the Gulf of California from Mazatl n to La Paz, Baja California Sur.