Cañada is a region in the state of
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 ...
,
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 ...
covering 4,300 square km. It includes two districts,
Teotitlán and
Cuicatlán.
The main administrative center is
Teotitlán de Flores Magón, but
Huautla de Jiménez is considered the most important cultural center in the region.
The region is named after the Cañada de Cuicatlán, a hot low canyon that links the
Valley of Oaxaca to the south with the
Valley of Tehuacán in
Puebla
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...
state to the north.
The Cañada was the major Precolumbian route between the two valleys.
It was conquered and controlled by the early
Zapotec state based on
Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain i ...
at some time around 300 BC.
The region is fertile with a warm and mild climate, and produces crops of mango, melon and avocado. It consists of flat lands watered by the Salado and Tomellín rivers.
References
Regions of Oaxaca
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