The municipality of Melchor Ocampo lies at an elevation between 1,200 and 2,800 metres (3,900–9,200 ft) in the Sierra Madre Oriental in northern Zacatecas.

[4] Melchor Ocampo is located in territory that was inhabited by the Guachichil and Irritila [es] peoples prior to Spanish contact.

[5] Permanent settlement in the area dates to 1872 with the founding of the San Pedro hacienda, where a railway station was built in 1903.

[6] The municipal government of Melchor Ocampo comprises a president, a councillor (Spanish: síndico),[5] and seven trustees (regidores), four elected by relative majority and three by proportional representation.

[11] A small mine in the municipality called La Fé del Norte produces 120 tonnes of zinc–lead ore per day as of 2020.