Cozumel

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Cozumel

Satellite image of Cozumel Island in 2001
Geography
Location	Caribbean Sea
Coordinates	20°30′N 86°57′W / 20.5°N 86.95°W / 20.5; -86.95Coordinates: 20°30′N 86°57′W / 20.5°N 86.95°W / 20.5; -86.95
Area	488.384 km²
Country
Mexico
State	Quintana Roo
Municipios (Municipality)	Cozumel
Largest city	San Miguel de Cozumel (pop. 71,401)
Presidente municipal (Municipal president)	Gustavo Ortega Joaquín (PAN)
Demographics
Population	473,193 [1] (as of 2005)
Density	149.88 /km2 (388.2 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Maya
Official website	Government website
Time zone UTC –6

Aerial view of San Miguel de Cozumel

Cozumel (Mayan: Island of the Swallows) (Kùutsmil in Modern Maya) is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite the Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. Cozumel is one of the nine municipalities (municipios) of the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a popular tourist destination renowned for its scuba diving and snorkeling. The main town on the island is San Miguel de Cozumel.

The island is about 48 km (30 miles) north-south and 16 km (10 miles) east-west, and is the largest Atlantic island of Mexico. (It is the third-largest island in Mexico, following Tiburón Island and Isla Ángel de la Guarda.) It is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the mainland, and some 60 km (36 miles) south of Cancún. The vast majority of the population of Cozumel lives in the town of San Miguel (pop. 71,401 in 2005 ^[1]), which is on the western shore. The rest of the island is low, flat, and densely vegetated. The island, including offshore islets, has a land area of 477.961 km² (184.54 sq mi). The municipality, which includes two small areas on the mainland enclaved within the Municipality of Solidaridad with a land area of 10.423 km² (4.024 sq mi), has a total land area of 488.384 km² (188.566 sq mi)^[2]. The two areas that are on the mainland are the Calica limestone quarry, near Playa del Carmen and Xcaret, and the Xel-Há Water Park, near the Xelha archaeological ruins^[3].

History

The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the 1st millennium AD, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well.^{[citation needed]} 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.[1] 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 in 1518 , and in the following year Hernán Cortés came with a fleet and destroyed many Maya temples.^{[citation needed]} Some 40,000 Mayans lived on the island then, but the smallpox disease devastated them, and by 1570 only 30 were left alive.^{[citation needed]} In the ensuing years Cozumel was nearly deserted, just used as a hideout by pirates from time to time.^{[citation needed]} In 1848, the Caste War of Yucatán resulted in resettlement by refugees escaping the tumult. A plaque at the Museo Cozumel states that Abraham Lincoln as the 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.^{[citation needed]}

Late 20th century

Looking south towards San Miguel.

In 1959, Jacques Cousteau discovered the extent and beauty of Palancar, the coral reefs at the south of Cozumel and publicized it as one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world^{[citation needed]}, although this reputation has been marred as a result of the controversial death of British singer Kirsty MacColl 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 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, 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

Cozumel seen through the eye of Hurricane Wilma.

The island was struck directly by two Category 4 hurricanes during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. First to arrive was Hurricane Emily in July. Despite Emily being a powerful storm, it was the slower moving Hurricane Wilma that caused the most destruction when it hit the island in October.^[4]

More significant—and virtually impossible to humanly repair—was the damage to the underwater marine life. This includes both the coral reefs, which suffered particularly at the shallower dive sites, and the fish that inhabit the reefs.^{[citation needed]}

Economics

Diving and charter fishing comprise nearly all sources of income. There are over 100 restaurants on the island and many hotels, some of which run dive operations, have large swimming pools, private docks, multiple dining facilities, and offer complete wedding and honeymoon packages.^{[citation needed]}

Other water activities include para-sailing, kitesurfing, and a tourist submarine. One of the hotels has captive dolphins that put on shows with tourists each day for approximately $100 per person.

At the cruise ship docks there are several square blocks of stores selling Cuban cigars, jewelery, t-shirts, tequila, and a large variety of inexpensive souvenirs. There are three brothels located in southern area of the island - two of which (Platina's and California Club) cater to tourists. Adult entertainment in town is limited and much of it has been shut down.

All food and manufactured supplies are shipped onto the island. Water is provided by a seawater desalinization facility located on the southern portion of the island.

There are two universities on the island: Universidad de Quintana Roo 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 surounded by the Municipality of Solidaridad. They are Calica and the Xel-Há Water Park^[3].

Culture

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. ^[5]

Nature

Looking north from the top of the Punta Sur lighthouse.

Geology

Cozumel is a flat island based on limestone, resulting in a karst topography. The highest natural point on the island is less than 15 meters above sea level. The Cenotes are deep water filled sinkholes formed by water percolating through the soft limestone soil during thousands of years. Cozumel Cenotes have very restricted access available only to qualified cave divers with appropriate registration. Mainland Cenotes can be explored by snorkeling, swimming or diving, and are home to several freshwater species. In the early 1990s, a group of cave explorers here discovered the 5th largest underwater cave in the world. Ancient inhabitants of the island also used the large holes in the rocks for shelter, particularly to escape the heat, by digging out small caves in the ground.

Biodiversity

Cozumel has a number of endemic species and subspecies of bird including:

• the Cozumel Thrasher, which is nearly, if not already, extinct.
• the Cozumel Vireo.
• the Cozumel Wren.
• the Cozumel Great Curassow, which is highly endangered.
• the Cozumel Emerald

Endemic dwarf mammals are found on the island:

• the Cozumel Island Raccoon, which is endangered⁶.
• the Dwarf Coati, which is endangered.
• the Cozumel Fox, which is nearly, if not already, extinct.

Endemic marine life:

• the Splendid toadfish

Photo Gallery

Barracuda at Paradise Reef.	Windward shoreline at Coconuts Bar & Grill.	Swimmers at the beach.	Punta Sur lighthouse.
Sunrise over the windward shore.	Snorkelers swim with fish.	Tidal pool and reef.	Cruise ships docked at the port in San Miguel.

Panoramic view of a Cozumel sunrise.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005: INEGI" (HTML). http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/sistemas/conteo2005/localidad/iter/. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
2. ^ "Land area of islands in Mexico: INEGI" (HTML). http://mapserver.inegi.gob.mx/geografia/espanol/datosgeogra/extterri/frontera.cfm?c=920%20&i=e. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México" (HTML). http://www.inafed.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/qroo/. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
4. ^ "Cozumel rebounds from Hurricane Wilma: Coleman, Michael" (HTML). http://marcoislandflorida.com/articles/2007/04/09/import/20070409-archive6.txt. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
5. ^ "This is Cozumel" (HTML). http://thisiscozumel.com/content/view/239/42/. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 

6. K. McFadden, D. Vasco, A. Cuaron, D. Valenzuela and M. Gompper. 2009. Conservation and population assessment of the endangered dwarf carnivores from Cozumel Island. Biodiversity and Conservation 13:317–331

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cozumel (category)

• Cozumel at the Open Directory Project
• Cozumel travel guide from Wikitravel
• Cozumel Parks and Museums official site for the Quintana Roo State Foundation that manages Chankanaab Park, Punta Sur, San Gervasio and the Island Museum