Puerto Morelos | |
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Coordinates: 20°51′13″N 86°53′55″W / 20.85361°N 86.89861°WCoordinates: 20°51′13″N 86°53′55″W / 20.85361°N 86.89861°W | |
Country | Mexico |
State | Quintana Roo |
Municipality | Puerto Morelos |
Named for | José María Morelos |
Government | |
• Mayor | Francisco Mendoza Reyna |
Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 9,188 |
Demonym(s) | Puertomorelense |
Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | Central Daylight Time (UTC-5) |
Postal Code | 77580 |
Area code(s) | 998 |
Major Airport | Cancún International Airport |
IATA Code | CUN |
ICAO Code | MMUN |
Website | www |
Puerto Morelos (Spanish pronunciation: ['pwerto mo'ɾelos]) is a town and seaport in Quintana Roo, Mexico's easternmost state, on the Yucatán Peninsula. The town is located in the northeast of the state, about 36 km south of the resort city of Cancún, and about 30 km north of the city of Playa del Carmen. Puerto Morelos merged with the village of Leona Vicario on December 6, 2015 to become the 11th municipality in Quintana Roo, separating from its former municipality of Benito Juarez. The marine terminal at Puerto Morelos is equipped to handle containers and is the oldest, largest and most important seaport in the state of Quintana Roo.
Puerto Morelos is divided by a highway and a mangrove swamp into three sections. The section west of the highway is known as "Colonia Joaquin Zetina Gazca". The section east of the highway is called "Colonia Pescadores". The section on the coast east of the mangrove swamp is "Puerto" or "Antiguo (old) Puerto Morelos". This original coastal fishing village is now a quiet, mixed-use neighborhood of private homes, hotels, condominiums, restaurants, and tourist shops. The second part is about 2 km. inland and adjacent to Highway 307, on the western side. The inland portion is mainly single level dwellings for local workers. New residential developments have sprung up in recent years adding to the housing mix. There are now multi-story apartment buildings, and private residential developments between the highway and the mangrove where one can buy lots and build a house of one's own design.
It has historically been the main port between the mainland of Yucatán and the Island of Cozumel, and an automobile ferry used to run from Puerto Morelos to Cozumel. The town is named after Independence leader José María Morelos.