Papaloapan Region, Oaxaca
| Papaloapan | |
|---|---|
| Region | |
 Oaxaco regions - Papaloapam to the north |
|
| Coordinates: 18°06′0″N 96°07′0″W / 18.10000°N 96.11667°WCoordinates: 18°06′0″N 96°07′0″W / 18.10000°N 96.11667°W | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Oaxaca |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8,678 km2 (3,351 sq mi) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 429,681 |
The Cuenca del Papaloapan Region is in the north of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico where the foothills of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca meet the coastal plain of Veracruz. The principal city is San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, the second largest in Oaxaca state.
The region is bordered on the east by the Cañada region and on the south by the Sierra Norte region of Oaxaca. On the north it meets the state of Puebla and to the west the state of Veracruz. The region has an area of 8,678 km2 with two districts, Choapan and Tuxtepec. The climate is hot and humid all year, with average temperature 24°C to 26°C and average annual precipitation of 2,000mm to 4,500mm.
The Papaloapan region has diverse flora and lush vegetation, including amate, fig, locust, mahogany, oak, cedar, aloe, palm and ceiba hormiguillo. Fauna include porcupine, armadillo, jaguar, raccoon, gray fox, brocket deer and white-tailed deer. There is a great variety of birds. The region today suffers from serious pollution in the Papaloapan river and an alarming increase in erosion due to livestock.
As of the 2005 census, the region had a population of 429,681 inhabitants, or 49.51 inhabitants per square kilometer. The population includes Chinatecs, Mazatec, Mixtecs, Zapotecs and Mestizos, but the indigenous influence is not as visible in social and cultural life as in the other regions of Oaxaca. Given its location in the coastal plain, the region tends to identify itself more with the state of Veracruz than Oaxaca. Before 1958, the region was represented in the Lunes del Cerro festival by the Fandango Jarocho. The Governor Alfonso Perez Gasga then decided to replace the Fandango with a new dance that had a more typical Oaxacan nature, creating the "Flor de Piña" which would eventually represent the region.
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