Colima, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima, is one of the thirty-one states that, together with Mexico City, form Mexico. Its capital is the city of the same name and the most populous city is Manzanillo. It is territorially divided into ten municipalities.
It is located in the western region of the country, bordering Jalisco to the north, Michoacán to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. With 711,235 inhabitants in 2015, it is the least populated state, with 5,627 km², the fourth least extensive —ahead of Aguascalientes, Morelos and Tlaxcala, the least extensive— and with 115.65 inhabitants / km², the ninth most densely populated, behind the State of Mexico, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Puebla, Querétaro and Hidalgo.
It was founded on December 9, 1856.
Apart from its capital and its most populous city, other important towns are Manzanillo, Tecomán, Armería, Comala, Villa de Álvarez, Cuauhtémoc, Ixtlahuacán, Coquimatlán and Minatitlán.
Colima is derived from the Nahuatl "Acollima" or "Acolliman", composed of "atl" (water), "colic" (twisted or bent) and the locative ending "-man", translated as "(the) place where the waters" or "(place in) the bend of the river.

Colima has a large volcano, the Volcán de Fuego, located on the border between the Mexican states of Colima and Jalisco, but showing greater visibility towards Colima. It forms part, together with the Nevado de Colima (which rises to the north of the volcano), of the protected natural area that bears the name of the latter. Despite its persistent activity, agricultural work has continued to develop in the adjoining region.
The mountainous reliefs cover the west, the north and the eastern part of the entity. The penetrations of the Jalisco mountains form the highest areas: Cerro Gordo, Sierras de Perote, El Peón and the foothills of the Colima volcano. The Piscila mountain range borders the wide Colima valley to the south; to the south, the Tecomán plains end in a low, sandy coastline. The entity has two extensive bays: Manzanillo and Santiago, as well as the Revillagigedo archipelago.
The main rivers of Colima are born in Jalisco. The Armería and its tributaries, the Comala and the Colima, irrigate its central part; the Cihuatlán or Marabasco to the west and the Coahuayana, with its tributary the Salado, irrigates the eastern part.