Coatzacoalcos () is a major
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
city in the southern part of the
Mexican state
The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named Mexico, United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a sepa ...
of
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, mostly on the western side of the
Coatzacoalcos River
The Coatzacoalcos is a large river that feeds mainly the south part of the state of Veracruz; it originates in the Sierra de Niltepec and crosses the state of Oaxaca in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, flowing for toward the Gulf of M ...
estuary, on the
Bay of Campeche
The Bay of Campeche ( es, Bahía de Campeche), or Campeche Sound, is a bight (geography), bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexico, Mexic ...
, on the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. The city serves as the municipal seat of the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of the same name. It is the state's third largest city, after
Veracruz City
Veracruz (), known officially as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located along the coast in the central pa ...
and
Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
.
Etymology
Coatzacoalcos comes from a
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
word meaning "site of the Snake" or "where the snake hides."
According to the legend, this is where the god
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahu ...
made his final journey to the sea in around 999 and he made his promise to return.
History
![Coatzacoalcos waterfront, 1904](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Coatzacoalcos_waterfront%2C_1904.jpg)
Coatzacoalcos sits within the
Olmec heartland
The Olmec heartland is the southern portion of Mexico's Gulf Coast region between the Tuxtla mountains and the Olmec archaeological site of La Venta, extending roughly 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico coastline at its deepest. It i ...
. Excavations in 2008 for a tunnel under the Coatzacoalcos River indicate a substantial pre-Hispanic population.
By the time of the
Spanish arrival the area was under
Mayan influence. In 1522,
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
ordered
Gonzalo de Sandoval
Gonzalo de Sandoval (1497, Medellín, Spain – late in 1528, Palos de la Frontera, Spain) was a Spanish conquistador in New Spain (Mexico)Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, and briefly co-governor of the colo ...
to fund a settlement near Guazacualco. Sandoval named it Villa del Espíritu Santo.
San Martín Tuxtla is an active volcano lying northwest of Coatzcoalcos in the
Sierra de los Tuxtlas
The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas (Tuxtlas Mountains) are a volcanic belt and mountain range along the southeastern Veracruz Gulf coast in Eastern Mexico. The Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Biósfera Los Tuxtlas) includes the coastal and higher elevations ...
. It erupted in 1664, in May 1793 with large ash falls and lava flows, and most recently in 1796.
The town was elevated to the category of port in 1825 and the name was changed to Coatzacoalcos.
The municipality of Coatzacoalcos was established 22 December 1881, with the town as its seat.
In 1900 the town name was changed to Puerto México. In 1911 it was elevated to city, and in 1936 the name was changed to the current Coatzacoalcos.
On 23 July 1940, Coatzacoalcos welcomed refugees from the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
who sought asylum in Mexico after travelling across the Atlantic aboard the SS ''Santo Domingo''.
In 1959, the city suffered damage from an 6.4
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
.
Coatzacoalcos became a very important crossroads during the oil boom of the 1970s, connecting the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
and oil fields in
Campeche
Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
to the rest of Mexico and to the port of
Salina Cruz
Salina Cruz is a major seaport on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the state's third-largest city and is the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name.
It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the I ...
in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
on the Pacific coast.
Geography and climate
The city is located at where the
Coatzacoalcos River
The Coatzacoalcos is a large river that feeds mainly the south part of the state of Veracruz; it originates in the Sierra de Niltepec and crosses the state of Oaxaca in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, flowing for toward the Gulf of M ...
debouch
In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term ...
es into the
Bay of Campeche
The Bay of Campeche ( es, Bahía de Campeche), or Campeche Sound, is a bight (geography), bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexico, Mexic ...
. Overland it is connected by road and rail to the Pacific Ocean about away. This location has prompted plans for an interoceanic waterway across the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...
, or for a much expanded railroad system, for over a century.
The city had a 2005 census population of 234,174, making it the third-largest city in the state after
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and
Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
, but first in metropolitan population. The municipality covers a surface area of and reported a population of 280,263 persons. The municipality population in 2010 was 305,260 an increase of 9% over 2005.
The largest community in the municipality, aside from the city of Coatzacoalcos, is the town of
Allende, with a population of 20,501 in 2005.
In the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
the climate is classified as
Am for a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...
. A typical year sees more than of rainfall.
Lying on the Gulf of Mexico, Coatzacoalcos has been struck by several hurricanes and tropical storms such as
Hurricane Diana
Hurricane Diana was a deadly tropical cyclone which struck Mexico in August 1990. The fourth named storm and second hurricane of the season, Diana developed from a tropical wave in the southwestern Caribbean on August 4. Forming as a tro ...
in August 1990,
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch is the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, causing over 11,000 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately 7,000 in Honduras and 3,800 in Nicaragua due to cataclysmic flooding from the slow motion ...
in November 1998,
Tropical Storm Larry in October 2003,
Hurricane Stan
Hurricane Stan was a relatively weak but deadly tropical cyclone that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005. The eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Stan formed from ...
in October 2005,
Hurricane Dean
Hurricane Dean was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the most intense North Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Wilma of 2005, tying for eighth overall. Additionally, it made the fourth most intense A ...
in August 2007,
Tropical Storm Marco The name Marco has been used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.
* Tropical Storm Marco (1990), hugged west coast of Florida, making landfall as a tropical depression, causing heavy rain and moderate damage
* Hurricane Marco (1996), f ...
in October 2008,
Tropical Storm Hermine in early September 2010,
Hurricane Karl
Hurricane Karl was the most destructive tropical cyclone on record to strike the Mexican state of Veracruz. The eleventh tropical storm, sixth hurricane, and fifth and final major hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, Karl formed from ...
in mid September 2010,
Tropical Storm Matthew in late September 2010,
Hurricane Richard
Hurricane Richard was a damaging tropical cyclone that affected areas of Central America in October 2010. It developed on October 20 from an area of low pressure that had stalled in the Caribbean Sea. The system moved to the southeast b ...
in October 2010 and
Hurricane Agatha
Hurricane Agatha was a Pacific hurricane which became the strongest hurricane to make landfall along the Pacific coast of Mexico in the month of May since records began in 1949. The first named storm and the first hurricane of the 2022 Pacific ...
in late May 2022. The winter months are cooler and drier than the summer months. Occasionally, cold high pressure cells from North America drift south across the Gulf of Mexico and drive strong
Tehuano winds across the Isthmus, with very strong wind concentration taking place in
Chivela Pass
The Chivela Pass is a narrow mountain pass in the Sierra Madre Mountains that funnels cooler, drier air from the North American continent, through southern Mexico, into the Pacific. These northeasterly winds, specifically the Tehuano wind, which ...
in Oaxaca.
Economy
The city's industry is dominated by the
petrochemical
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
sector. Four big industrial petrochemical complexes are located near the city (Pajaritos, Cosoleacaque, Morelos and Cangrejera) making it one of the most important concentrations of its kind in the world. The state-owned
Pemex
Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...
Petroquímica subsidiary is headquartered in Coatzacoalcos and 85% of its production is concentrated there.
Education
The
Universidad Veracruzana
Universidad Veracruzana (Spanish for ''University of Veracruz'') is a public autonomous university located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Established in 1944, the university is one of the most important in the southeast region of México. It ...
maintains a branch campus and library in Coatzacoalcos.
Also,
TecNM has a campus in the city.
Sports
The
Tiburones Rojos de Coatzacoalcos (Red Sharks) played in the
Primera División A
Primera may refer to
* Nissan Primera, a car
* Primera Air, a former airline
* Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues
* Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas
* Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...
until December 2008 when they moved to
Orizaba
Orizaba () is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a 2005 census ...
to become part of a reformed
Albinegros de Orizaba
Club Deportivo Albinegros de Orizaba was a football club of the city of Orizaba, in the state of Veracruz. Founded in 1898 as "Orizaba Athletic Club", it was founded by Scottish migrant Duncan Mac Comish Mac Donald who owned a local steel company ...
. The
Delfines de Coatzacoalcos
Club Atlético Delfines de Coatzacoalcos, A.C. is a team of football from the city of Coatzacoalcos, that is in the Tercera División de México.
History
The team was founded in 1997 and they first appeared in Segunda División de México. The ...
(Dolphins) play in the
Estadio Rafael Hernández Ochoa, which was built in 1980.
The
Universidad Istmo Americana F.C.
Universidad Istmo Americana F.C. is a Mexican football club that plays in the Tercera División de México. The club is based in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The club represents the Universidad Istmo Americana F.C.
See also
*Football in Mexico
*Ve ...
plays in the
Tercera División de México
The Liga TDP is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Liga TDP is divided into 17 groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the format of the tournament has been reorganized to a home and away format, which all teams will play in their ...
and is based in Coatzacoalcos.
Transportation
Coatzacoalcos has been a transportation hub for hundreds of years. It is connected via air, water, road, and rail to
the surrounding region and the rest of the world.
The
Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos National Airport is away in
Cosoleacaque Cosoleacaque is a municipality in the south-east zone of the State of Veracruz, Mexico. It is located about from the state capital Xalapa. It has a surface of . It is located at .
Cosoleacaque borders to the north on Coatzacoalcos and Pajapan, to ...
and has been an
international airport since August 2006.
The
Port of Coatzacoalcos (Puerto Mexico) is an international port of entry that provides transhipment of oil and petrochemicals.
After an upgrade to the railway along the Tehuantepec Route was opened in 1907 by
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
the port saw an increase of shipping via the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...
, particularly from the
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargos of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods back to Hawaii. Brothers-in-law George Dearborn and Lewis Henry Lapham were the key players in the foun ...
. The port saw a decrease in traffic after the opening of the Panama Canal from 1914 on, but traffic has started to build up since the oil boom of the 1970s. The railway is now known as the
Ferrocarril Transístmico
The Ferrocarril Transístmico ( es, Trans-Isthmus, Isthmic Railroad), also known as Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec, S.A. (corporation), S.A. de C.V. or simply Ferroistmo, is today a railroad with no rolling stock, owned by the Mexico, Mexica ...
("Trans-Isthmic Railroad").
The
CG Railway
The CG Railway is a terminal railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The CGR is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, and is owned and operated by a 50/50 joint venture between SEACOR Holdings and Genesee & Wyoming. The railroa ...
operates
train ferries
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...
between the Port of Coatzacoalcos and the
Port of Mobile
The Port of Mobile is a deep-water port in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the only deep-water port in Alabama. It was ranked by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as the 9th largest port by tonnage in the nation during 2014, with ...
in Alabama, US.
Ferrosur
The Ferrocarril del Sureste , commonly known as Ferrosur, is a railway that serves the southeastern regions of Mexico. The company was formed in 1998 following the privatization of Mexico's railways. Ferrosur took over the southeast concession. ...
also provides rail service in and out of Coatzacoalcos as far southeast as
Las Choapas Las Choapas is a city and its surrounding municipality in the southeastern extremes of the state of Veracruz in Mexico. It is bordered by the municipalities of Uxpanapa, Minatitlán, Moloacán, and Agua Dulce in Veracruz, Huimanguillo in Tabasco, ...
, to the north and west to Veracruz and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, as well as to the south over the Tehuantepec route now owned by
Ferrocarril Transistmico
Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...
from Medias Aguas to Salina Cruz in the state of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
.
Mexican Federal Highway 180
Federal Highway 180 is a Mexican Federal Highway that follows Mexico's Gulf and Caribbean Coast from the Mexico-U.S. border at Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to the resort city of Cancún, Quintana Roo, in the Yucatán Penins ...
follows the southern shore of the Bay of Campeche through Coatzacoalcos to the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
. Highway 180 and a rail line to Allende have been carried over the Coatzacoalcos River via the 1910 built ''Coatza I'' bridge for more than a century. A second cable stayed bridge known as ''Coatza II'' or ''Antonio Dovalí Jaime'' was built to the south to carry more road traffic over the river. It was constructed starting in 1979 and was opened by President
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988.
Inheriting a severe economic an ...
on 17 October 1984.
''Coatza II'' has a center span of and an overall length of .
A ferry operates between the city of Coatzacoalcos and Allende, which in 2017 was supplemented by a
underwater tunnel
An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry li ...
that carries four lanes of traffic.
Notable people
Coatzacoalcos is the birthplace of actress
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...
; journalist
María Antonieta Collins
María Antonieta Collins Flores (born 12 May 1952) is a Mexican journalist, television host and author. She is the winner of four Emmy Awards and the Edward Murrow Award.
Biography
Collins became known to viewers in her native Mexico as a ...
; and footballers Sergio Ramirez, who played for
FC Ararat Yerevan
Football Club Ararat Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Արարատ Երևան), commonly known as Ararat Yerevan, is an Armenian association football, football club based in Yerevan that plays in the Armenian Premier League.
Si ...
, in the
Armenian Premier League
The Armenian Premier League ( hy, VBET Հայաստանի Պրեմիեր Լիգա, known as the VBET Armenian Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the top association football, football competition in Armenia. From 1936 to 1991, the compet ...
and
José Arturo Rivas
José Arturo Rivas Mortera (born 18 October 1984) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Rivas has spent the most of his career in Tigres, winning three Liga MX, one Copa MX and one Campeón de Campeones champi ...
, who plays for the
Tigres de la UANL
Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...
, in the
Primera División de México
The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional Association football, football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year.
The league is considered the strongest in North America, and amo ...
. Also,
Silviano Delgado Valladolid, who was part of Mexico's National Squad during Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games and played for Toluca F.C., Puebla F.C., Morelia F.C.
Twin towns – sister cities
*
Rizhao
Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang t ...
, China
*
San Fernando
San Fernando may refer to:
People
*Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia
Places Argentina
*San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
, Philippines
See also
*
CG Railway
The CG Railway is a terminal railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The CGR is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, and is owned and operated by a 50/50 joint venture between SEACOR Holdings and Genesee & Wyoming. The railroa ...
*
German night fighter direction vessel ''Togo''
References
Sources
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
VeracruzEnciclopedia de los Municipios de México es al mas lindo y hermoso que no hay otro como Mexico
External links
Coatzacoalcos municipal governmentOfficial website (in Spanish)
*
Municipal Official InformationThe Society of CoatzacoalcosVideos of Coatzacoalcos
{{Authority control
Populated places in Veracruz
Cities in Mexico
Port cities and towns of the Mexican Gulf Coast
Ports of the Gulf of Mexico
Populated places established in 1522
1522 establishments in New Spain
1520s establishments in Mexico