San Miguel Chimalapa Explained

San Miguel Chimalapa
Settlement Type:Municipality and town
Pushpin Map:Mexico
Pushpin Label Position:above
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Mexico
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Mexico
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Oaxaca
Area Total Km2:1593.5
Population As Of:2005
Population Total:6541
Timezone:Central Standard Time
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:Central Daylight Time
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Coordinates:16.7167°N -139°W

San Miguel Chimalapa is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. It is part of the Juchitán District in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.[1]

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 1593.5 km2 at an altitude of 120 meters above sea level.The climate is warm temperate, sub-humid with summer rains, with 2100 mm of annual precipitation.Flora includes cedar, Guanacaste, pine, pine, oak, Nopo, milk, yellow, mahogany, orange, banana, tangerine, mamey and nanche. Fauna includes jaguar, mountain lion (endangered), raccoon, tapir, paca, coyote, fox, badgers, anteaters, wild boar, fox, rabbit, armadillo, mazatec, monkey, parrots, pheasant, rattlesnake and coral snake.[1]

Demographics

As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 6,541 of whom 1,988 spoke an indigenous language.[1] As of 2,000 there were about 1,675 Zoque speakers in the municipality.[2] The municipality covers part of the Selva Zoque, an ecologically sensitive forest area.[3]

Chimalapa Zoque is spoken in the municipality.[4]

Economy

Economic activity includes agriculture (corn, beans, squash and coffee), animal husbandry (cattle, pigs, goats and sheep) and logging of timber for furniture making.Hunting and fishing are practiced by permission in the dry season.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: San Miguel Chimalapa. Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. . 2010-07-28.
  2. Web site: Zoques de Oaxaca . Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas . 2010-07-28.
  3. Web site: The Social Construction of Deforestation in Mexico: A case study of the 1998 fires in the Chimalapas Rain Forest . World Rainforest Movement . David Barkin and Miguel Angel García . 2010-06-29.
  4. Book: Wichmann, Søren . Søren Wichmann . 1995 . The Relationship Among the Mixe–Zoquean Languages of Mexico . . Salt Lake City . 978-0-87480-487-4.