Yucatán Peninsula
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The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. The peninsula lies east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a northwestern geographic partition separating the region of Central America from the rest of North America.
The peninsula comprises the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; the northern part of the nation of Belize; and Guatemala's northern department of El Petén. Mexican states situated on the isthmus to the west of the peninsula include Chiapas and Tabasco.
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[edit] Geology
The peninsula is mainly composed of limestone. Cenotes or sinkholes are widespread; they were the main water source for both ancient and contemporary Maya people. Paleontologists have theorised that the dinosaurs became extinct when an asteroid hit the earth. According to the Alvarez hypothesis, the Yucatán Peninsula is the site of this impact, centering on the current-day town of Chicxulub. See Chicxulub Crater.
The boundaries between northern Guatemala (El Petén), Mexico (Campeche and Quintana Roo) and western Belize are still occupied by the largest continuous tracts of tropical rainforest in Central America. However, these forests are suffering extensive deforestation. Short and tall tropical jungles were the predominant natural vegetation types of the peninsula.
[edit] People
The Yucatán Peninsula in the later centuries of the pre-Colombian era was mostly within the zone of influence of the Maya civilization (the Maya extended south and west from the Yucatan, through present Guatemala and into Honduras). There are many Maya archaeological sites throughout the peninsula; some of the better-known are Chichen-Itza, Tikal, Tulum and Uxmal. [1], [2] Indigenous Maya and Mestizos of partial Maya descent still make up a sizable portion of the region's population, and Mayan languages are still widely spoken there.
There is a popular myth that the name Yucatán comes from the Yucatec Mayan word for "listen how they speak," supposedly said by those local Indians when the first Spanish explorers asked what the area was called.
Since the 1970s, the Yucatán Peninsula has developed into a fast growing tourist resort, especially in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Once a small town, Cancún in the northeast of the peninsula has grown into a thriving city. The Riviera Maya, which stretches the East Coast between Cancún and Tulum, currently has more than 50,000 beds and is visited by many thousands of tourists year on year.
[edit] Climate
Like much of the Caribbean, the peninsula lies within the Atlantic Hurricane Belt. The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a particularly bad season for Mexico's tourism industry, with two forceful category 4 storms hitting, Hurricane Emily and Hurricane Wilma. Fortunately, the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a typical year which left the Yucatán untouched.
Strong storms called nortes can quickly descend on the Yucatán Peninsula any time of year. Although these storms pummel the area with heavy rains and high winds, they tend to be short-lived, clearing after about an hour. The average percentage of days with rain per month ranges from a monthly low of 7% in April to a high of 25% in October. Daily average high temperatures range from 81 to 90.2 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 to 32.3 °C), with the hottest average temperatures in July and August. However, temperatures can climb up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C). Low temperatures seldom dip below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 °C), with daily averages ranging from 67.4 to 78.2 degrees Fahrenheit (19.7 to 25.7 °C). Though ocean breezes can have a cooling effect, humidity is generally high, particularly in the remaining rainforest areas.
