San Miguel Chimalapa is a town and
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 ...
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 ...
in south-western
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
It is part of the
Juchitán District
Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering the southern part of a low-lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific ocean.
The dis ...
in the west of the
Istmo de Tehuantepec region.
Geography
The municipality covers an area of 1593.5 km
2 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.
[
]
Demographics
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 6,541 of whom 1,988 spoke an indigenous language.[
As of 2,000 there were about 1,675 Zoque speakers in the municipality.
The municipality covers part of the ]Selva Zoque
The Selva Zoque ( en, Zoque Forest), which includes the Chimalapas rain forest, is an area of great ecological importance in Mexico. Most of the forest lies in the state of Oaxaca but parts are in Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil ...
, an ecologically sensitive forest area.
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.[
]
References
Municipalities of Oaxaca
{{Oaxaca-geo-stub