Fresnillo, a city of Mexico, in the state of Zacatecas, 305 m. N. W. of Mexico; pop. about 15,000. It is 7,284 ft. above the sea, and is partially surrounded by eminences formed by a gradual rise of the country on three sides. The streets are laid out at right angles, and well kept. The plaza, once the site of an arena for bull fights, is now a beautiful promenade. The houses are scrupulously neat; and among the public buildings the most noteworthy are the parish and three other churches, all handsomely and solidly constructed, and a school of mines, founded in 1853. Maize, wheat, and other cereals are largely cultivated; and the city markets are provided with many of the European garden vegetables and fruits, and some of the tropical fruits. The adjacent silver mines of the same name were discovered in 1569, in which year the city was founded. They were long among the most productive in the country; in 1838 the yield was $2,310,993; in 1850 it was a quarter of a million more, and it has since increased still more.