The Yucatán is as famous for its Mayan ruins as for its beaches.
The Yucatán peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, in the southernmost part of Mexico. Three federal states share the area: Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo. Parts of Belize and Guatemala are also located on the peninsula. The city of Cancun is located in southeastern Yucatán, in the state of Quintana Roo, together with the majority of the hotels and tourism industry.
Climate, Geology and Beaches
The Yucatán peninsula is a limestone plateau with extensive cave and sinkhole systems. The beaches of the peninsula consist of eroded limestone, which makes a fine, white sand. Most of the coastline is sand beach, with mangrove swamps and limestone cliffs. To the north of the peninsula, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Alvarez theory positions the impact crater of the event that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The peninsula has a tropical climate, with annual mean temperatures around 80 degrees F, and little variation. Occasionally, hurricanes ravage the area. The Yucatán peninsula is hard to cultivate. The topsoil is sparse and the rainfall, while torrential, soon runs off. The only freshwater resource in the Mayan times were the cenotes, or sinkholes, which dot the area.
History
The Mayan civilization began around 2500 B.C. on the Yucatán peninsula. Between 300 and 900 A.D., several cities were build around the region. In 987, the Toltec arrived, mixed with the Maya, and eventually came to dominate.
Mayan culture was organized in city-states, which waged war against each other. After successfully dominating the other cities, the city of Mayapan and the Cocom tribe came to rule the area until the mid-13th century, when most cities were abandoned, probably due to failing harvests. The Spanish explorers arrived in 1511, after several attempts conquering the peninsula in 1537. More than 30 Franciscan convents were built for the use of missionaries, converting the natives to Catholicism.
Several rebellions followed the harsh treatment of the Indians, but were all repressed. When Mexico was liberated from Spain, the Yucatán peninsula was initially made an independent area within Mexico, turned into Mexican states during the first half of the 19th century. The first years of statehood saw several conflicts, not just federalist-centralist and liberal-conservative, but also indigenous rebellions. The latest rebellion was in 1937, which led the federal government to enact extensive land reform, awarding Indians communal lands.
Economic development has been uneven in the three states. The tourism industry has brought an economic boom to Quintana Roo, where it is concentrated in the city of Cancun.
Hotels, Tourism and Transport
Flights to the Yucatán peninsula arrive not only from Mexico, but also from the United States and several destinations in Europe, primarily into the Cancún international airport. There are also international airports in M rida, Cozumel and Chetumal; and a national airport in Campeche.
From Cancún, a toll road with four lanes crosses the peninsula and passes through M rida toward the state of Campeche. There are seven toll booths and security controls at the state borders. The majority of the hotel rooms in the area are located in Cancún and Cozumel, in the state of Quintana Roo, which since tourist development started in the 1970s has developed into a major travel destination with an international airport.
Campeche
The state of Campeche is probably named for the Mayan words meaning "snake" and "ticks." The capitol of the state is Campeche, and it became a Mexican state in 1862. The state covers an area of 21,926 square miles, making it the same size as the U.S. state of Iowa. Campeche has 252 miles of coastline and includes the Isla del Carmen, Jaina, Triángulo, and Cayo Arcas.
The mountains of Campeche are in the northern and eastern parts of the state, with a flat plain stretching to the south. There are several small lakes, apart from the ubiquitous cenotes, and many lagoons along the coast, as well as several rivers. The state has about 600, 000 inhabitants, 85 percent of which have Spanish as their first language, the first language of the rest being Mayan. Most people are Roman Catholics.
Yucatán State
The Yucatán became a Mexican state in 1824. Its capital is M rida. The state has an area of 16,749 square miles. Geographically, it consists mostly of lowland, sitting on a limestone bed riddled with sinkholes and underground lakes. The coast has long white sand beaches and mangrove forests. Small rainforest areas can be found at the border with Campeche.
The state of Yucatán has a population of about 1,600,000. Most people have Spanish as their first language, with about 37 percent speaking native languages. Seventy-five percent of the population is Roman Catholic. The state economy is focused on services, food processing, and textiles. There are a few assembly plants owned by U.S. companies.
The state capital of M rida was built on top of ancient Mayan ruins. Mayan stones were used in the construction of the cathedral.
Quintana Roo
The Mexican state of Quintana Roo was separated from Yucatán and made into an autonomous state in 1931. It sits at the easternmost part of the Yucatán Peninsula. The state covers 16,228 square miles. The capital is Chetumal. There are appoximately 900, 000 people living in the state, most being Spanish-speakers, with about 23 percent speaking Mayan and other native languages. About 63 percent of the population are Roman Catholics.
The geography is generally flat, with the southwest part of the state rising 660 feet above the sea. The coastline is long and has white beaches, and a coral reef. The coastline has several lagoons, and inland there are caves and sinkholes known as cenotes.
The industry is dominated by tourism which is the source of about 90 percent of the economic activity of the state. Between 25 and 28 percent of all Mexican tourism goes to Cancún.
Nature and Agriculture
The eastern part of the Yucatan peninsula is dry, with little vegetation. In the western part, there is some rainforest in Campeche, including the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, with about 400 jaguars. The most common trees are cedar, ceiba, pich and poak trees. Common animals are are anteaters, porcupines and raccoons. Pumas, jaguars, and long-tailed monkeys can be found in the rainforest areas. Parrots, macaws, cardinals and bluebirds are common birds.
Apart from the rainforest, there are four different ecosystems in the Yucatán peninsula: forests, savanna, mangroves and reefs. In the forest, the most common trees are mahogany, cedars, East Indian rosewoods and palm trees. The most common animals are anteaters, spider monkeys, white-tailed deer, and a type of dog called tepezcuintles. Common birds are turkeys, parrots, doves and nightingales.
In the drier savanna, the vegetation is pastureland and bushes. The mangrove swamps are found along the coast, with amphibian or aquatic animals like herons, pelicans, ducks, manatees and alligators. The limestone reef is a maritime ecosystem, with various fish and coral. Most of the peninsula is heavily cultivated. The major crops are corn, beans, sorghum, oranges, mangoes and lemons. Primary livestock is cattle, pigs, and horses. Due to the fruit cultivation, the Yucatan peninsula is a supplier of honey.
Along the coast, fishing is important. Main catches are sea bass, octopus and shark.
Tags: Yucat peninsula, first language, Mexican state, most common, square miles, state Campeche, state Quintana
