Santa María Petapa
Encyclopedia
Santa María Petapa is a town and municipality
in Oaxaca
in south-western Mexico
.
It is part of the Juchitán District
in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region
.
The name comes from the Zapotec language
words meaning "four winds".
The town was given this name in 1525.
After Espiritu Santu
(now Coatzacoalcos) it is the oldest Spanish town in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
.
Guigo or guego and petlatl means "river" and daa or petlatl means petate. It is original name of Petapa.
The town is located on a plain, bounded to the north and west by high mountains.
It is at an elevation of 260 meters above sea level. The municipality covers an area of 145.44 km².
The land is irrigated by the river Petapa.
The climate is warm and humid, with abundant rainfall in the spring, summer and autumn.
The forests contain oak, mahogany, cedar, guaiac, rosewood, spring, Nopo, mamey, avocado, pine and cedar.
Wild fauna include Toucan, boar, deer, tepeizcuinte, coyote, raccoon, armadillo and skunk.
The church of Our Lady of the Assumption was built in the sixteenth century.
An 1852 description said the town had once contained a population of 5,000 but had by that time been reduced to 1,300.
As of 2005, the municipality had 3,476 households with a total population of 13,867 of which 3,294 spoke an indigenous language.
The main economic activity is agriculture, with crops of corn, beans, coffee and vegetables.
Animal husbandry is also important, including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and poultry.
Logging is also practiced, with fine wood marketed for furniture manufacturing.
Municipalities of Mexico State
The Mexican state of Mexico is made up of 125 municipios :-External links:* Estado de México / State of Mexico...
in Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
in south-western 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...
.
It is part of the Juchitán District
Juchitán District, Oaxaca
Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, covering the southern part of a low lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Pacific ocean....
in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region
Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca
Istmo de Tehuantepec is the largest region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It covers the southern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the shortest route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean before the Panama Canal was opened....
.
The name comes from the Zapotec language
Zapotec language
The Zapotec language are a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages spoken by the Zapotec people from the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico. Present-day native speakers are estimated to number over half a million, with the majority inhabiting the state of Oaxaca....
words meaning "four winds".
The town was given this name in 1525.
After Espiritu Santu
Coatzacoalcos
Coatzacoalcos is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Coatzacoalcos River. Coatzacoalcos comes from an indigenous word meaning "Site of the Snake" or "Where the snake hides"...
(now Coatzacoalcos) it is the oldest Spanish town in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
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, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
.
Guigo or guego and petlatl means "river" and daa or petlatl means petate. It is original name of Petapa.
The town is located on a plain, bounded to the north and west by high mountains.
It is at an elevation of 260 meters above sea level. The municipality covers an area of 145.44 km².
The land is irrigated by the river Petapa.
The climate is warm and humid, with abundant rainfall in the spring, summer and autumn.
The forests contain oak, mahogany, cedar, guaiac, rosewood, spring, Nopo, mamey, avocado, pine and cedar.
Wild fauna include Toucan, boar, deer, tepeizcuinte, coyote, raccoon, armadillo and skunk.
The church of Our Lady of the Assumption was built in the sixteenth century.
An 1852 description said the town had once contained a population of 5,000 but had by that time been reduced to 1,300.
As of 2005, the municipality had 3,476 households with a total population of 13,867 of which 3,294 spoke an indigenous language.
The main economic activity is agriculture, with crops of corn, beans, coffee and vegetables.
Animal husbandry is also important, including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and poultry.
Logging is also practiced, with fine wood marketed for furniture manufacturing.