Santa María Chimalapa is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in southeastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the easternmost and largest municipality in Oaxaca, but is also the least densely populated municipality in Oaxaca. 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 and the easternmost district in Oaxaca, covering the southern part of a low-lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of ...

in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region.

Geography

The municipality has an area of 3572.31 km², much of it covered by tropical rain forest. The climate is warm sub humid, with summer rainfall of 23,000 mm. The town is at a height of 180 metres above sea level and is supplied with water by El Rio Corte, originating in the Selva Zoque forests to the east.

Flora and fauna

The forests contain many species of tree including cedar, mahogany, Nopo, Guanacaste, cedrillo, coabillo, ceiba, pine, hormiguillo, rattan, oak, oak, lime, nanche, pineapple, custard apple, tangerine and coffee. Wild fauna include boar, paca, deer, jaguar, raccoon, skunk, monkey, pheasant, parrot, owl, toucan, white eagle, rattlesnake, coral snake deaf.

Demographics

Before the Mexican colonial period, the area was inhabited by the Chima, a

Zoque people The Zoque are an Indigenous people of Mexico, who are related to the Mixe. They speak various languages, also called Zoque, which has several branches and dialects. The Zoque consists of 41,609 people, according to the 2000 census. They live ma ...

believed to be descendants of the

Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

. The area is now ethnically diverse, with the original Zoque people reduced to a minority of perhaps 30%. As of 2005, the municipality had 1,701 households with a total population of 8,643 of whom 3,381 spoke an indigenous language. Chimalapa Zoque is spoken in the municipality.

Economy

Economic activities include growing corn, beans, coffee and sugar cane, and raising cattle, goats, sheep, horses and poultry. Logging is practised, with a sawmill preparing fine woods for furniture production, and wild animals are hunted in certain seasons. Sport hunting is also practised by tourists. The region is extremely poor, with limited infrastructure such as roads and schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Chimalapa Municipalities of Oaxaca