Oaxacan Geography

This article deals with the geography of Oaxaca, a Mexican state located in the southwest of the country. It occupies the fifth place in extension at the national level, and its orography is one of the most rugged in the country. In the region, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre del Sur and the Sierra Atravesada intersect. While the mountains are characterized by their low temperatures, the region of the isthmus, the canyon and the coast are characterized by their mild climate.

The most important rivers are the Río Papaloapan, which is fed by the Río Tomellín and the Río Santo Domingo, and the Río Atoyac, which is part of the Río Atoyac-Verde hydrographic basin.^{[citation required ]}

Northwest: Puebla	North: Puebla / / Veracruz	Northeast: Veracruz
West: Guerrero		This: Chiapas
Southwest: Pacific Ocean	South: Pacific Ocean	Sureste: Pacific Ocean

Relief

The Mixteca mountain range, near Nativitas Monte Verde, northwest of the state of Oaxaca.

Landscape of the Sierra Sur de Oaxaca. Fog banks are common throughout the year.

The Mixtec sierra occupies almost 52 percent of the Oaxacan territory, which is why the relief of the state is generally compared to a crumpled sheet of paper. The highest point in the state is Cerro Nube, with 3750 ms. no. m.^{[citation required]}

Hydrography

The Sierra de Oaxaca is made up of water from the main streams: towards the Pacific slope, the Atoyac, which becomes the Verde River when it crosses the Sierra Madre del Sur, and the Mixtec Nudo, a tributary of the Balsas. Towards the slope of the Gulf, the Rio Grande and the Salado, which later form two of the main dams: the Miguel Alemán and Miguel de la Madrid, retain the waters of the main tributaries of the Papaloapan in the north. The tributaries of Coatzacoalcos arise from the crossed sierra to drain into the Gulf of Mexico and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and which flow into the Bahía de la Ventosa; here is the Benito Juárez Dam Litorales: Along 533 km, extensive beaches characterize the Oaxacan coast, where a large number of short rivers flow that descend from the Sierra Madre del Sur and form estuaries and lagoons; natural beaches such as Puerto Escondido, Puerto Ángel and Sacrificios, bays such as Huatulco, Santa Cruz, Tangolunda and the Gulf of Tehuantepec, where the Marqués Lagoon is located, an important salt producer.^{[citation required]}

In Oaxaca there are two hydroelectric plants that generate electricity: Tamazulapam and Temazcal, whose joint generation capacity is approximately 1,059 million kW/hour; It is also fed by the main transmission network from the hydroelectric power plants in the southeast of the country and from a wind energy park with a capacity of 250 megawatts. located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.^{[citation required]}

Rivers

Verde, Colotepec, Ayutla, Tenango, Huamelula, Espíritu Santo, Ostuta, La Arena, Sarabia, El Corte, Petapa, Putla, Atoyac, Tequisistlán, Aguacatenango Jatepec, Puxmetacán Trinidad, Valle Nacional-Papaloapan, Cajonos, Cuanana, San Antonio, Tonto, Joquila, Calapa, Petlapa, Minas, Tehuantepec, Grande, Mixteco, Salado, Los Perros, Copalita, Espiritu Santo, Santo Domingo, Grande-Salado.

Oaxaca is home to an interesting hydrological network in which, in addition to rivers, natural caves, caves, caverns and hydrological basins are located. The caves were considered as sacred places by the ancient Oaxacans since they were located as places where some deities dwelt or were the headquarters of miraculous events, is the case of the Apoala caves, Located north of Nochixtlán, located in a fertile and small irrigated valley By the river of the same name, Mixtec tradition says that in the trees that are on the banks of the river or in the cave itself, the primordial couple that would be the root of the Mixtec people was born.^{[citation required]}

The Cheve system carries water from the basins near Pápalo until it discharges it into the Santo Domingo River canyon. It is the main cavern of the system and a series of smaller caverns such as Osto de Puente, Natural, Viento Frío, Cuates and Escondida that connects to the primordial system. It contains 23.5 kilometers of explored landscapes that end in a massive passage blocked by gigantic boulders on the other side.

Sótano de San Agustín: the system, located in the Huautla de Jiménez region, with a depth of 1,250 meters, is considered the deepest in America and one of the longest caverns in Mexico with 24 kilometers. To date it is considered that the system has not been fully explored. The expeditionary visit is recommended only for professionals, since a large part of the journey is carried out going down between waterfalls and small streams at different depths, which makes breathing difficult in the dark.

De los Ladrones: located in San Juan Atepec, it is considered very long, access is easy in the first 50 meters and from there, the cavity becomes narrower. The different figures formed by calcareous stratifications are striking. The cavern has not been fully explored, and it can be dangerous without the company of a specialized guide.^{[citation needed]}

Climate

In Oaxaca, huge mountain ranges serve as barriers to winds coming from the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.^{[citation needed]}

Oaxaca presents a great variety of climates, thus, in its territory there are warm, semi-warm, temperate, semi-cold and semi-dry climates.

The warm climates as a whole cover a little more than 50% of the total area of the entity, they occur in the lower altitude areas (from sea level to 1000 m), they are characterized by their average annual temperatures that vary from 22 °C to 28 °C and its average temperature of the coldest month is 18 °C or more.

Nearly 20% of the state is under the influence of semi-warm climates, in which average annual temperatures range from 18 °C to 22 °C, or are higher than 18 °C, and cover areas whose altitude ranges from from 1,000 to 2,000 m.^{[citation required]}

The temperate climates, sub-humid with rains in summer in greater proportion and with abundant rains in summer in smaller areas, cover approximately 19% of the surface of the state; They manifest themselves in the lands whose altitude is from 2,000 to 3,000 m. It is located towards the center and northwest, but also towards the south on the coast. On January 3, 2007, an unusual snowfall was recorded in the Sierra Juárez, affecting 8 Oaxacan municipalities. This meteorological phenomenon could be the effect of climate change.

In the center-south and north-northwest are the areas with semi-dry climates, which represent almost 10% of the state territory, and immersed in them are the areas with dry climates, which do not cover 1%.

Geographic Regions

Geographically, it has eight regions:

Coastal Region

The coastal region runs along the Pacific Ocean, bordered to the north by the Sierra Sur Region; to the east with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; to the west with the state of Guerrero and to the south with the Pacific Ocean, it occupies 11% of the state territory and includes all the Districts of:^{[citation required]}

• Pochutla: 14
• Juquila: 12
• Jamiltepec (mixteco: Casandó): 24

The Coast can be described as a humid zone: On one side you have many rivers that come down from the Sierra Madre del Sur, and on the other is the Sea, which provides its inhabitants with an immense wealth of food. This extends along the coast towards the Pacific Ocean, along 482 km. The vegetation of these places is composed of precious wood trees and other tropical species from which lianas and beucos hang, such as white cedar, red cedar, mahogany, spring or macuil, guanacastle, ceiba or pochota, paradise, Brazilwood, Campeche wood, cuchepil, cuapinol, achiote, willow, oak or purple rose, royal palm, heart of palm, corozo or coacoyul palm, coquito palm, coyul, coyol.^{[citation required]}

Agriculture develops according to the growth experienced by the Region. Lemon tree crops cover huge extensions with geometrically planted plants. Crops are altered with natural or artificial pastures that feed cattle, milk and meat producers for internal consumption or external consumption.^{[citation required]}

The fauna is abundant, there are squirrels, anteburro or tapir, weasel, shrew, otter or water dog (in extinction), marten, jaguar, anteater, bat, raccoon, porcupine, eagle, owl, quail, parakeet, toucan parakeet, parrot, macaw, grackle, buzzard, scorpion, turtle, lizard, crocodile, lizard, rattlesnake, deaf viper, iguana, chameleon, tilcuate, and countless amphibians. In Chacahua, there is a national park, decreed by the then president, Lázaro Cárdenas del Rí, for the production of alligators.^{[citation required]}

Southern Sierra Region

The Sierra Madre del Sur makes up 23 percent of the state. It is made up of the following districts:^{[citation required]}

• Putla (mixteco: Ñuhunuma): 10
• Sola de Vega (zapoteco: Huash): 16
• Miahuatlán (zapoteco: Guiesdó): 32
• Yautepec (zapoteco: Latzetzina): 12

It is made up of 80 political-administrative municipalities.^{[citation required]}

For the most part, it is made up of forests that extend from the Juquila and Jamiltepec mountains; At different points in the sierra there are very high mountains. When entering the Putla highway, you cross a series of mountains that give the impression of many horizons. At the top, the landscape is of pine trees, and when descending, the slopes of the mountains are covered with vegetation typical of the temperate climate.^{[citation required]}

Small transvesal valleys are formed in the folds of the mountains; corn, beans, some legumes and flowers are planted in them, in the area near San José there are abundant agapados and gannets; there are places where these flowers, as well as lilies and lilies grow almost wild.^{[citation needed]}

In the part of the Sierra Sur, known as the Sierra de Miahuatlán, there are several caves, among others: Cerro Gordo, Santa María Coatlan and Santa Lucía Miahutlan. In Sola de Vega there are several caves known as San Sebastián de las Fustes, most of these caves are connected to underground rivers.^{[citation required]}

There are many minerals in the region. Metals such as gold, silver, iron and antimony have been located.^{[citation needed]}

Its rivers and water runoff flow down towards the coast and empty into the Pacific Ocean.^{[citation required]}

Isthmus Region

The Isthmus region is a narrow area of the Mexican Republic, a strip of land of approximately 100 kilometers (km), which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific Ocean. It occupies 18% of the state territory, due to its size it is the second most important region and is made up of 35 municipalities. It is made up of the following districts:^{[citation required]}

• Tehuantepec (zapoteco: Guisi or Guidxeguí): 19
• Juchitan (zapoteco: Galahuiguichi): 22

The isthmus is mountainous to the west and flat to the east and on the coast. Here the land is sandy and dry, with strong winds; The low ground has allowed the formation of saltwater lagoons. To the west are the tobacco mountains, to the east of Tehuantepec, the terrain is almost flat and there is a lot of wind, only a few small hills stand out. The main rivers of the Isthmus are the Tehuantepec, which has water all year round, and the Tequisistlan; the waters of these rivers come together and are used for Agriculture through the Benito Juárez dam, other rivers are the Ostuta, Niltepec, de los Perros, and Chicapa, which cross the cities of Ixtepec, Ixtaltepec, Espinal and Juchitán de Zaragoza.^{[citation required]}

Approximately 125 km of the Oaxacan coasts belong to the Isthmus. The port of Salina Cruz is the terminal for oil and petrochemical production pipelines from the Gulf Coast, with a Petróleos Mexicanos refinery. It has also been a shrimp fleet that catches this species in the patrimonial sea of the Pacific Ocean and whose market is basically abroad.^{[citation required]}

The natural ports are Huatulco and Santa Cruz; there are several islands but all very small; the least girl is Tagolava. Most of the land that covers the Tehuantepec valley is alluvial and therefore very fertile.^{[citation needed]}

Sometimes the ground is 10 meters deep; on the other hand, the region has a tropical climate with a dry season and a rainy season... during the dry season, the wind whips and forms eddies in the Juchitán plains and the Tehuantepec Sabanas, the rainy seasons in the Isthmus begin between May and June: in this season it rains almost daily.^{[citation needed]}

The nature of the Isthmus includes large forests in the mountains to the north and east; savannah zone near Tehuantepec; extensive plans in Juchitán and mangroves and swamps along the coast.^{[citation needed]}

Among the wild mammals of the Isthmus are the jaguar, ocelot, puma, leopard, foxes, especially the gray one, and coyote, among others.^{[citation required]}

Sierra Norte Region

Going down from the Orizaba peak is the Sierra Norte Region, also known as Sierra Juárez or Sierra Oaxaca, which occupies 13 percent of the state territory. This region encompasses the following districts:^{[citation needed]}

• Mixe (mixe: Muycuxma): 17

• Villa Alta (zapoteco: Luchiguizaa): 25
• Ixtlán de Juárez (zapoteco: Ladxetsi): 26

The Sierra Region is made up of 123 political-administrative municipalities.^{[citation required]}

Average climate parameters of Humo Chico, Santiago Comaltepec -2012-msnm
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	19.0	27	23.5	26.5	32.5	21	18.5	21	19	20	27	18.5	'
Average temperature (°C)	11.7	14.2	16.2	16.8	16.8	13.2	11.6	12	11.8	11.7	12.6	11.6	13.4
Average temperature (°C)	7.1	9	10.7	11.5	11.7	9.5	8.2	8.5	8.5	8.1	8.2	7.3	9.0
Temp. medium (°C)	2.5	3.8	5.2	6.2	6.6	5.7	4.9	5	5.3	4.5	3.9	3.1	4.7
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-8.0	-4.5	-6.0	-3.0	-0.5	1	1	1	0	-1	-2.5	-5	'
Total precipitation (mm)	74.6	78.5	47.9	56.2	135.7	548.0	632.8	641.5	700.8	459.3	213.3	201.4	3790
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	9.4	7.3	7.1	9.4	13.3	24.6	27.9	27.8	27	20	13.5	13.0	201.6
Source: http://smn.cna.gob.mx/climatology/Normales5110/NORMAL20273.TXT

It is a very rich mountain range due, among other things, to the amount of rain that falls each year. In the northern part, almost on the border of the state of Puebla, at sunrise you can see deep cracks in the sides of the mountains. As you go up through this area, the vegetation is not very abundant, but upon reaching the summit, the physical environment changes and becomes very rich and fertile.^{[citation required]}

In the towns of the Sierra Region, sometimes cold and other times humid, fruit trees such as apricots, apples, peach trees, pears, and quinces grow very well. Sweet potato grows underground, which is abundant in the Villa Alta district, as well as potatoes.^{[citation required]}

Passing on the district of Ixtlán, is the mountain known as Cuatsimulco. Many rivers and streams come down from this mountain and swell the flow of the Papaloapan River.^{[citation required]}

North Oaxaca is a cradle of several rivers.^{[citation needed]}

Papaloapan Basin Region

It is the richest region in the state of Oaxaca, in terms of the diversity of its products and the fertility of the land. It occupies 11 percent of the state territory: also known by the name of the Gulf region, named for its proximity (70 km) to the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of the following districts:

• Tuxtepec (chinanteco: Gueumaló or mazateco: Nachinxé): 14
• Choapan (zapoteco: Guimbetsi): 6

Average climate parameters of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Adolfo López Mateos
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	31.5	36	40	44	41.5	42	36.5	37	37.5	36	33.5	33	44
Average temperature (°C)	26	27.9	30.2	33.3	35	33.7	32.5	32.4	32	30.2	26.4	28.1	30.6
Average temperature (°C)	21.7	22.9	24.9	27.4	29	28.4	27.4	27.5	27.4	26	24	22.4	25.8
Temp. medium (°C)	17.4	18	19.5	21.5	23.1	23.1	22.3	22.5	22.8	21.7	19.9	18.3	20.8
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	11	11.5	12.5	13	19	19	19	18.5	20.5	14	13.5	10	10
Total precipitation (mm)	58	34	32	38	98	289	434	417	327	213	100	41	2078
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	7.2	5.2	5.6	4.3	7.1	14.4	20.1	18.9	16.6	12.6	8.7	7.4	128.1
Source: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather. php3?s=920294 strangercityname=San-John-Bautista-Tuxtepec-Oaxaca-Mexico strangerunits=metric

It is made up of 16 political-administrative municipalities. The region's humidity and its warm temperature have resulted in the development of tropical vegetation. Different places specialize in the cultivation of various products, for example in Valle Nacional, tobacco; in Loma Bonita the pineapple; in the districts of Choapan and Mixe, coffee and tobacco are produced, and bananas and barbasco are produced throughout the region.^{[citation required]}

Choapan is renowned because some aromatic teas that are highly sought after in international markets are grown there. In the jungle part of the region grows Campeche wood, which for a long time was used to dye cloth, and vanilla. This entire region is bathed by rivers and streams that come down from the northern sierra.^{[citation required]}

Due to the number of streams that run through the area, in the western part of the Papaloapan region stands practically a wall of vegetation.^{[citation required]}

In jungle areas it is necessary to constantly clean the roads to keep them in good condition; The vegetation is so profuse that plants grow very easily in the middle of the roads.^{[citation needed]}

This region is not entirely pleasant: the humidity and heat are conducive to the reproduction of mosquitoes and other poisonous animals.^{[citation required]}

Cañada Region

• Teotitlán (náhuatl): 25
• Cuicatlán (mixteco: Yabahaco): 20

Mixtec Region

It occupies 14% of the state territory. In the Mixteca Region, the physical environment changes from arid and semi-desert to forested and steppe. Made up of 163 political-administrative municipalities. And by their districts:^{[citation required]}

• Nochixtlán (mixteco: Nuanduco) 32
• Tlaxiaco (mixteco: Ndijiñu): 35
• Juxtlahuaca (mixteco: Yosocui): 7
• Silacayoapan (náhuatl): 19
• Huajuapan (mixteco: Ñudee): 28
• Coixtlahuaca (mixteco: Yodoco): 13
• Teposcolula (mixteco: Yocundá): 21

The region is very poor in appearance, due to its land and the few crops that grow there. The mountains of the Mixteca contain deposits of antimony, zinc, lead, silver, gold, tungsten, manganese, iron, and mercury.^{[citation needed]}

In the southeast region of the Teposcolula district, groups of dwarf oaks predominate. To the north of Huajuapan the vegetation is made up of organs that give the place a desert-like coloration of ocher and green. While in Tlaxiaco its main peaks are Cerro Negro and Yucunino.^{[citation required]}

La Mixteca is known for its caves; that of Apoala, in Nochixtlán: it is a large cave with two galleries of 40 and 35 meters high that are linked to the origins of the Mixtec people, according to their history. What is remarkable about this cave is the lagoon inside where its waters are constantly moving.^{[citation needed]}

Erosion is very strong in the Mixteca. Coixtlahuaca has been cited as a place with the worst degree of existing erosion. If this continues, the Mixteca may become a desert and lose all its arable land.^{[citation needed]}

Despite the regional poverty and the serious erosion that occurs in this place, in the small valleys and slopes where they can till the land, corn, beans, potatoes, rice, chili are planted and some fruits are grown, but they are not enough for the number of inhabitants.^{[citation required]}

From the summits of the Mixteca you can occasionally observe various types of birds from the heights, such as the eagle, the hawk, and the hawk; because in the mountains the badger, the raccoon and the opossum that are the food of these birds of prey.^{[citation needed]}

Central Valleys Region

The region of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca is considered the geographic, political, and social heart of the entity. It is bordered to the north and east by the Sierra Madre, to the south by the Sierra Madre del Sur, and to the west by La Mixteca and the Sierra Madre del Sur.^{[citation required]}

It is made up of 121 municipalities, registered in 7 districts.^{[citation required]}

It is basically the upper eastern basin of the Verde River, locally called Atoyac. It is bordered by two arms of the two mother mountains, presenting in its interior various isolated mountainous elevations. The area is of medium productivity due to the fact that its soils originally hosted a dense vegetation cover, although at present they have been worn away by continuous agricultural use.ref>catarina.udlap.mx (chapter 2)</ref>

It is made up of 102 administrative municipalities and their districts:^{[citation required]}

• • Etla (zapoteco: Lobaana): 23
• Zaachila (Zadxil): 6

• Zimatlán (zapoteco: Guidxibui) 13
• Ejutla (zapoteco: Lubisaa): 13
• Ocotlán (zapoteco: Lachiroo or Latsi Xirooba -Valle Grande): 20
• Tlacolula (zapoteco: Guichiguiba): 25
• Centre (zapoteco: Galahui): 21

There are some differences between its valleys, although in general the characteristics of a temperate climate are present. The vegetation is generally grasslands, although there are also trees such as the huamúchil.^{[citation required]}

The soil is sometimes black, red or yellow and also has different qualities, the best in Los Valles de Etla, Zimatlan, Ocotlan, and Tlacolula. The temperature of the Valleys is temperate with rains in summer. The hottest months are April and May. The coldest months are December, January and February. The rainy season regularly begins in May and sometimes lasts until September.^{[citation needed]}