Santa María Ixcatlan 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 and is the second least densely populated municipality in Oaxaca behind Santa María Chimalapa. It is part of the Teotitlán District in the north of the Cañada Region.

Geography

The municipality has an area of 201.58 km² at an elevation of 1,840 meters above sea level. In the settled areas the climate is hot and humid with abundant rainfall in summer. Other areas are arid with little rainfall.

Flora and fauna

Trees include morillo,

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, and fruit-bearing peach, apricot, pomegranates, figs and hawthorn. Local birds include chachalaca,

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

, sparrow, goldfinch, orioles,

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

s and

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

s. Wild life includes coyote, fox, wild cat, wild boar, badger, rattlesnake, coral snake, lizards and scorpions.

Demographics

As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 573, of whom 37 people spoke an indigenous language. The town is the only one inhabited by speakers of the Ixcatec language. According to the ''Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes'', there were only 8 speakers of the Ixcateco (Xwja) language in 2008. Most of the population is engaged in cultivation of maize, beans, wheat and barley, and also in manufacture of artisan products made from palms. There is small-scale animal husbandry of goat, cattle, horses and donkeys.

Economy

Mezcal Mezcal (, ), sometimes spelled mescal, is a liquor, distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Agaves or magueys are endemic to the Americas and found globally as ornamental plants. The ''Agave'' genus is a member of the Agavoid ...

is produced in the village.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Ixcatlan Municipalities of Oaxaca