Salina Cruz is a major

seaport 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 ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast 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 ...

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 ...

. It is the state's third-largest city and is 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 part of the

Tehuantepec District Tehuantepec District is located in the west of the Istmo Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It includes the cities of Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeas ...

in the west of the Istmo Region. The city had a 2005 census population of 71,314, while its municipality, with an area of had a population of 76,219, the state's fourth-largest municipality in population. The port was developed in the late 19th century due to its location at the southern terminus of the

Ferrocarril Transístmico The Ferrocarril Transístmico ( es, Trans- Isthmic Railroad), also known as Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec, S.A. de C.V. or simply Ferroistmo, is today a railroad with no rolling stock, owned by the Mexican government, that crosses the Isth ...

, which carried freight across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

History

Salina Cruz, was founded by the Spanish in 1522 under whose command Pedro de Alvarado came. It was given the name "Salina de la Santa Cruz" as its official foundation day was the Catholic day of the holy cross. Salina Cruz is situated near the mouth of the Río Tehuantepec, on the open coast of 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 ...

on the

Gulf of Tehuantepec Gulf of Tehuantepec () is a large body of water on the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southeastern Mexico, at . Many (but not all) Pacific hurricanes form in or near this body of water. A strong, gale-force wind called the Tehuan ...

, and has no natural harbour. There was only a small

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

village before Salina Cruz was chosen as the Pacific terminus of the Tehuantepec National Railway, whereupon a modern town was laid out and built on adjacent higher ground and an artificial harbour was built by the Mexican government to accommodate the expected traffic. The new port was opened to traffic in 1907 and in 1909 its population was largely composed of labourers. The harbour was formed by the construction of two breakwaters, the western and the eastern long, which curve toward each other at their outer extremities and leave an entrance wide. The enclosed space is divided into an outer and inner harbour by a double line of quays wide enough to carry six great warehouses with electric cranes on both sides and a number of railway tracks. Connected with the new port works was one of the then-largest dry docks in the world long and wide, with a depth of on its sill at low water. The works were planned to handle an immense volume of transcontinental freight, and before they were finished four steamship lines had arranged regular calls at Salina Cruz.

The municipality

As municipal seat, Salina Cruz has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Agua Blanca, Boca del Río, Colonia el Bosque, Colonia el Mirador, Colonia Estibadores, Colonia Granadillo, Colonia la Brecha, Colonia Miramar, Colonia Santita, Colonia Vista Hermosa, El Ciruelo, El Puentecito, Ensenada de la Ventosa, La Brecha (Rancho Moisés Aquino), La Hacienda (Palo Grande), Las Escolleras, Palo Grande, Playa Azul, Playa Brasil (Brasilito), Salinas del Marqués, San Antonio Monterrey, and San José del Palmar

Climate

Salina Cruz experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Aw''). This is because from November to March the precipitation is much smaller, mainly concentrated in summer similar to Asian

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

s, although it is not categorized as such. The seasons of the year can not be well demarcated, generally better defined by the rainy season in the central months of the year. Although precipitation is 1122.3 mm on average, it is usually concentrated in the summer, with August averaging 330.7 mm and February at only 1.6 mm. It is not uncommon for temperatures to rise from 35 °C at some times of the year even in its coastal location. The winter is unknown and at times there is just something like the end of fall to early spring, the lower averages are above 21 °C, moreover no temperature below 10 °C has been recorded as in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. High temperatures are present for much of the year. The hours of sunshine are always well above 200 hours a month, totaling 2670.6 in annual average, which shows a pleasant beach climate.

References

*
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Oaxaca
Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México

{{Authority control Municipalities of Oaxaca Port cities and towns on the Mexican Pacific coast Populated places established in 1522

History

The municipality

Climate

See also

References

External links