Cozumel
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
off the eastern coast of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's Yucatan Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
, opposite Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen is a balneario resort city just south of Cancún on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, in the northeast of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The city is the seat of the Solidaridad municipality. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 149,923 people and it is rapidly growing...
, and close to the Yucatan Channel
Yucatán Channel
The Yucatán Channel is a strait between Mexico and Cuba. It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico. The strait is across between Cape Catoche in Mexico and Cape San Antonio, Cuba and reaches a maximum depth of .-References:...
. Cozumel is one of the ten municipalities
Municipalities of Quintana Roo
The Mexican State of Quintana Roo is made up of 10 municipalities : Tulum and Bacalar are the newest municipalities. The state was created from the Quintana Roo Territory in 1974 with seven municipios. Solidaridad was formed in 1993 by act of the Congress of Quintana Roo. Tulum was split off from...
(municipios) of the state of Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
. Cozumel is a tourist destination for its balneario
Balneario
Balneario is a Latin American seaside resort, although they may also occur along great lakes, rivers and at hot springs. In Spain balneario typically only refers to spa town resorts. Whatever the case these resorts offer recreation, sports, entertainment, food, hospitality and safety services,...
s, scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
, and snorkeling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
. The main town on the island is San Miguel de Cozumel
San Miguel de Cozumel
San Miguel de Cozumel is the largest town on the island municipality of Cozumel in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. With a 2010 census population of 77,236 persons, it is also Quintana Roo's fourth-largest community, after Cancún, Chetumal, and Playa del Carmen. It is a hub for tourism on the...
.
Geography
The island is about 48 km (29.8 mi) long and 16 km (9.9 mi) wide, and is Mexico's largest caribbean island. It is Mexico's third-largest island, following Tiburón IslandTiburón Island
Tiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...
and Isla Ángel de la Guarda
Isla Ángel de la Guarda
Isla Ángel de la Guarda, also called Archangel Island, and called Xazl Iimt east of Bahía de los Ángeles, and separated from the Baja California Peninsula by the Canal de Ballenas . It is the second largest of the eleven Midriff Islands or Islas Grandes. It is part of the state of Baja California,...
. It lies some 10 km (6.2 mi) from the mainland, and 90 km (55.9 mi) south of Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
.
The vast majority of the population of Cozumel lives in the town of San Miguel (pop. 100,000 in 2011), which is on the island's western shore. The municipality, which includes two small areas on the mainland enclaved within the Municipality of Solidaridad
Solidaridad, Quintana Roo
Solidaridad is one of the ten municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is also one of the youngest municipalities in the country and was formed on July 28 of 1993 by decree of the State Congress during the administration of Mario Villanueva Madrid...
with a land area of 10.423 km² (4.024 sq mi), has a total land area of 647.33 km² (249.93 sq mi).
The Land area is covered with an impenetrable jungle which has many endemic animal species. Cozumel island, including offshore islets, has a land area of 477.961 square kilometre. The two areas that are on the mainland are the Calica
Calica
Calica is a quarry and a port on the Quintana Roo coast of Mexico. The name is short for the full Spanish name Calizas Industriales del Carmen, "calizas" Spanish for lime or limestone...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarry, near Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen is a balneario resort city just south of Cancún on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, in the northeast of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The city is the seat of the Solidaridad municipality. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 149,923 people and it is rapidly growing...
and Xcaret
Xcaret
Xcaret is a Maya civilization archaeological site located on the Caribbean coastline of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the modern-day state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. The site was occupied by the pre-Columbian Maya and functioned as a port for navigation and an important Maya trading center...
, and the Xel-Há Water Park
Xel-Há Water Park
Xel-Ha Park is a commercial aquatic theme park and self-described ecotourism development located on the Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, in the municipality of Solidaridad. It is situated within the "Riviera Maya", a region promoted as a tourism corridor along Highway 307. It...
, near the Xelha
Xelha
Xelha or Xel-Ha can refer to:* Xelha, an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located on the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico...
archaeological ruins.
Geology
Cozumel is a flat island based on limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, resulting in a karst topography
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
. The highest natural point on the island is less than 15 m (49.2 ft) above sea level. The cenote
Cenote
A cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico and Central America, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath...
s are deep water filled sinkholes formed by water percolating through the soft limestone soil during thousands of years. Cozumel's cenotes have very restricted access available only to qualified cave divers with appropriate registration. In the early 1990s, a group of cave explorers here discovered the 5th largest underwater cave in the world. Since the population reached 100,000 peoples most of the cavern in town and neighborhood are used for rinse water disposal.
History
The MayaMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the 1st millennium AD, and older Preclassic Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
artifacts have been found on the island as well. The island was sacred to Ix Chel, the Maya Moon Goddess, and the temples here were a place of pilgrimage, especially by women desiring fertility. There are a number of ruins on the island, most from the Post-Classic period. The largest Maya ruins on the island were bulldozed to make way for an airplane runway during World War II. The ruins of San Gervasio are located approximately at the center of the island and are the largest remaining ruins.
The first Spanish visitor was Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva
Juan de Grijalva was a Spanish conquistador. Some authors said he was from the same family as Diego Velázquez.He went to Hispaniola in 1508 and to Cuba in 1511....
in 1518, and in the following year Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
came with a fleet and destroyed many Maya temples. Some 40,000 Mayans lived on the island then, but the smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
disease devastated them, and by 1570 only 30 were left alive. In the ensuing years Cozumel was nearly deserted, just used as a hideout by pirates from time to time. In 1848, the Caste War of Yucatán
Caste War of Yucatán
The Caste War of Yucatán began with the revolt of native Maya people of Yucatán, Mexico against the population of European descent, called Yucatecos, who held political and economic control of the region. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the north-west of the Yucatán and the...
resulted in resettlement by refugees escaping the tumult. A plaque at the Museo Cozumel states that Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, an American president, came close to purchasing the island of Cozumel as a place to send the freed slaves. The continued war in the Yucatan caused him to change his mind.
Late 20th century
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
was introduced by locals to the extent and beauty of Palancar Reef
Palancar reef
Palancar Reef is a large coral reef located on the southwest side of the island of Cozumel and is part of the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park. The site is very popular with scuba divers and is divided into several sections based on depth & coral formations...
, the coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s at the south of Cozumel and publicized it as one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world, although this reputation has been marred as a result of the controversial death of British singer Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
whilst diving there in 2000.
Although the original airport was a World War II relic and was able to handle jet aircraft and international flights, a much larger airport
Cozumel International Airport
Cozumel International Airport is an international airport in the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, located at the Caribbean coast near Cancún. It handles national and international air traffic of the city of San Miguel, Cozumel, receiving thousands of tourists all year.As with the other 9 airports...
was built in the late 1970s. This resulted in much greater tourism to Cozumel.
Scuba diving is still one of Cozumel's primary attractions, mainly due to the healthy coral reef marine communities. These coral reefs are protected from the open ocean by the island's natural geography. In 1996, the government of Mexico also established the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park
Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
The Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park is off the coast of the island of Cozumel in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The cozumel reef system is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second largest coral reef system in the world. Even though almost the entire island of Cozumel is...
, forbidding anyone from touching or removing any marine life within the park boundaries. Despite the importance of healthy reefs to Cozumel's tourist trade, a deepwater pier was built in the 1990s for cruise ships to dock, causing damage to the reefs, and it is now a regular stop on cruises in the Caribbean.
2005 Hurricane Season
The island was struck directly by two Category 4Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
hurricane
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, repeatedly shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,913 deaths and record damage of about $159.2 billion...
. First to arrive was Hurricane Emily
Hurricane Emily (2005)
Hurricane Emily was a powerful, early season tropical cyclone that caused significant damage across the Caribbean Sea to Mexico. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, the storm formed on July 10, 2005, in the central Atlantic Ocean before passing through the Windward Islands on July 14...
in July. Despite Emily being a powerful storm, it was the slower moving Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season...
that caused the most destruction when it hit the island in October.
There was some damage to the underwater marine habitat. This included the coral reefs, which suffered particularly at the shallower dive sites, and the fish that inhabit the reefs.
Industry
Diving and charter fishing comprise nearly all sources of income. There are more than 300 restaurants on the island and many hotels, some of which run dive operations, have swimming pools, private docks, and multiple dining facilities.Other water activities include para-sailing, kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
, and a tourist submarine. There are also two dolphinarium
Dolphinarium
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a large pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or for public performances...
s.
At the cruise ship docks there are several square blocks of stores selling Cuban cigars, jewellery, t-shirts, tequila, and a large variety of inexpensive souvenirs. There are a very large number of restaurants in San Miguel that have a huge variety of different cuisines.
In down town Cozumel are several discotheks, bars, cinemas, stages and restaurants. The main plaza includes a fixed stage where Cozumelenians and Tourists celebrating the Sunday evening with a dance in to the night.
All food and manufactured supplies are shipped to the island. Water is provided by three different desalinization facilities located on the island.
Education
There are two universities on the island: the University of Quintana RooUniversity of Quintana Roo
The University of Quintana Roo is a Mexican public university with several campuses across the state of Quintana Roo, in the Yucatán peninsula. It was created on 24 May 1991....
and Partenon. In addition to teaching English as a degree, they offer five other career options including natural resources research, tourism and commercial systems.
Government
Cozumel is part of the State of Quintana Roo (Q-Roo). The Municipality of Cozumel consists of the island of Cozumel (with its offshore islets) and two pieces of adjacent mainland surrounded by the Municipality of SolidaridadSolidaridad, Quintana Roo
Solidaridad is one of the ten municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is also one of the youngest municipalities in the country and was formed on July 28 of 1993 by decree of the State Congress during the administration of Mario Villanueva Madrid...
. They are Calica
Calica
Calica is a quarry and a port on the Quintana Roo coast of Mexico. The name is short for the full Spanish name Calizas Industriales del Carmen, "calizas" Spanish for lime or limestone...
and the Xel-Há Water Park
Xel-Há Water Park
Xel-Ha Park is a commercial aquatic theme park and self-described ecotourism development located on the Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, in the municipality of Solidaridad. It is situated within the "Riviera Maya", a region promoted as a tourism corridor along Highway 307. It...
. During the 2010 census there were 122 populated localities and 86 unpopulated localities enumerated.
Towns and villages
The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:| Name | 2010 Census Population |
|---|---|
| San Miguel de Cozumel San Miguel de Cozumel San Miguel de Cozumel is the largest town on the island municipality of Cozumel in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. With a 2010 census population of 77,236 persons, it is also Quintana Roo's fourth-largest community, after Cancún, Chetumal, and Playa del Carmen. It is a hub for tourism on the... |
77,236 |
| Las Fincas | 746 |
| Kilómetro Cuatro y Medio | 211 |
| La Estrella | 154 |
| San Lorenzo | 134 |
| La Esperanza | 115 |
| Huerto Familiar | 104 |
| Villa Cozumel | 75 |
| Las Palmeras | 72 |
| Iberostar | 52 |
| Dos Arbolitos | 44 |
| San Carlos | 34 |
| Total Municipality | 79,535 |
Festival of El Cedral in Cozumel
To this day a historic festival is held in the small town of El Cedral, in the south of Cozumel Island at the end of April. This annual event is said to have been started over 150 years ago by Casimiro Cárdenas.Cárdenas was one of a group that fled to the island from the village of Saban, on the mainland, after an attack during the War of the Castes. The attackers killed many other villagers, but Cárdenas survived whilst clutching a small wooden cross.
Legend has it that Cárdenas vowed to start an annual festival wherever he settled, to honor the religious power of this crucifix. Today, the original Holy Cross Festival forms part of the wider Festival of El Cedral, which includes fairs, traditional feasts, rodeos, bullfights, music and competitions. The celebrations last about 5 days in all and are held every year at the end of April or beginning of May.
Natural history
Cozumel has a number of endemic species and subspecies of bird including:- the Cozumel ThrasherCozumel ThrasherThe Cozumel Thrasher, Toxostoma guttatum, is a bird from the mockingbird family , which is endemic to the island of Cozumel off the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico...
, which is nearly, if not already, extinct. - the Cozumel VireoCozumel VireoThe Cozumel Vireo is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae.It is endemic to the Mexican island of Cozumel off the Yucatán Peninsula.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and heavily degraded former forest....
. - the Cozumel WrenHouse WrenThe House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...
. - the Cozumel Great CurassowGreat CurassowThe Great Curassow is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropics. At in length and in weight, this is a very large cracid. No other cracid match its maximum weight, but its length is matched by a few other cracids....
, which is highly endangered. - the Cozumel EmeraldCozumel EmeraldThe Cozumel Emerald is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae.It is endemic to the Mexican island of Cozumel off the Yucatán Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist...
Endemic dwarf mammals
Insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – typically mammals – when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is distinct from the intentional creation of dwarf...
are found on the island:
- the Cozumel Island Raccoon, which is critically endangered.
- the Cozumel Island CoatiCozumel Island CoatiThe Cozumel Island Coati is a coati from the Mexican island of Cozumel. It is in the family Procyonidae, which also includes raccoons, olingos, and Kinkajous....
, which is endangered. - the Cozumel FoxCozumel FoxThe Cozumel Fox is an undescribed species of fox which is apparently close to extinction or even already extinct. It is found on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. The Cozumel Fox, which has not been scientifically described to date, is a dwarf form like the Island Fox but slightly larger, being up...
, which is nearly, if not already, extinct.
The island also harbors three rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s that are larger than their mainland counterpart: Oryzomys couesi, Peromyscus leucopus, and critically endangered Reithrodontomys spectabilis, the latter of which is also endemic to the island.
Endemic marine life:
- the Splendid toadfishSplendid ToadfishThe splendid toadfish, Sanopus splendidus, also known as the coral toadfish, is a species of toadfish entirely endemic to the island of Cozumel.Commonly found under coral outcroppings. Dens can be spotted by the sloping sand patch...
Other native wildlife includes:
- the American crocodileAmerican CrocodileThe American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives...
- the Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
- the Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumiCardisoma guanhumiCardisoma guanhumi, also known as the blue land crab, is a species of land crab found in tropical and subtopical estuaries and other maritime areas of land along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, from Brazil and Colombia, through the Caribbean, to the Bahamas, and as far north as Vero Beach,...
)
Photo gallery
External links
- Cozumel Parks and Museums official site for the Quintana Roo State Foundation that manages Chankanaab Park, Punta Sur, San Gervasio and the Island Museum
- Cozumel travel information independent destination website about Cozumel Island offering tourist information including: things to do, places to stay and news.