Tlalpan

Tlalpan is the largest of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District (Mexico City) is divided. Tlalpan is the home of Ajusco, a volcanic mountain peak and National Park, one of the highest mountains in Mexico City.

Tlalpan is divided into "colonias" (neighborhoods) that include Miguel Hidalgo, Fuentes Brotantes, Pedregal de San Nicolás, Héroes de Padierna, San Pedro Mártir, San Andrés Totoltepec, Lomas de Padierna, San Miguel Ajusco, San Miguel Topilejo, Villa Coapa, Niño Jesús, Jardines en la Montaña, Miguel Hidalgo and Pedregal de San Nicolás. The main indigenous language was Nahuatl^{[citation needed]}, but nowadays, due to the cultural development and expansion of Mexico City, which has forced out most farming activity and indigenous settlements, it is spoken only by some indigenous communities living outside and inside Mexico City and by some other people interested in studying and speaking the language.^{[citation needed]}

Geography and climate

Tlalpan is located in the southwest of the Federal District. To the North it borders Coyoacán borough; and to the South the state of Morelos (municipality of Huitzilac) and the State of Mexico (municipality of Santiago Tianguistenco). To the East lie the boroughs of Xochimilco and Milpa Alta; and to the West the borough of Magdalena Contreras and the Municipality of Xalatlaco (state of Mexico). The borough of Tlalpan is 23 kilometers from the Mexico City downtown (specifically the Zocalo). The median altitude of the populated portions of the borough is 2,270 meters above sea level.

Hydrography

Tlalpan has regions, basins and sub-basins that provide it with water. Its hydrographic network consists of streams of seasonal character that, generally, run for short distances and then disappear in more permeable areas. According to the INEGI, 1% of the borough's surface is supplied by the Rio Lerma-Toluca basin; 27% by the Balsas-Mezcala river basin; 31.3% by the Balsas-Zirándaro region and 69% by the basin of the Moctezuma river.

Currently there are river beds that were once important rivers, such as the San Buenaventura and San Juan de Dios. The source of the first is La Viga canal, which runs from West to East and flows into Xochimilco Lake, by Tomatlan and heads to Mexico City. The second goes from South to North and unites with a tributary river that descends from the Pedregal's Xitle volcano.

Near the town of Parres runs a river of the same name, which rises in a foothill of the Cerro Caldera El Guarda, where all other rain streams of the Oyameyo mountain unite, flowing finally to the San Lucas Sochimanca dam in Xochimilco.

The Eslava river is important as a natural boundary between the boroughs of Tlalpan and Magdalena Contreras, with a fixed bed and intermittent flow.

Climate and temperature

According to the Carta de Climas of the INEGI, the borough of Tlalpan has 5 types or subtypes of climate: 32.2% of the borough's area has a subhumid temperate climate with summer rains and high humidity; 6.39% has a subhumid temperate climate with summer rains and moderate humidity; 0.33% has a subhumid temperate climate with summer rains and lowest humidity; the semicold wet atmosphere with abundant summer rainfall is located over 17.17% of the borough's area, and lastly, 43.79% of the region has a subhumid semicold climate with summer rains, with even higher humidity than the previous type.

Thus the climate varies from temperate subhumid in the North to semicold subhumid as altitude increases towards the South; becoming semicold humid in the highest regions. The median temperatures in the lower parts of Tlalpan range are between 10 and 12 °C (50 and 54 °F). However, the higher regions fail to reach 8 °C (46 °F) of median temperature. The average annual precipitation ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 mm; the highest occurring in the South. The warmest months are April and May; the wettest July through September.

The following climate charts show three different variations of the local climate. Villa Coapa is the warmest, due not only to being the lowest region of the borough but also to being the most built-up. It is also the driest with 817.1 mm. The median temperature is 17.2. This region has reached the warmest temperatures of the borough, in the mid-30's Celsius (90-95 degrees Fahrenheit) though the record lowest temperatures for the area are relatively warm at −3 °C (26.6 °F). However, the real coolest temperatures have occurred in higher and less built-up areas, with readings reaching -9°C (15 Fahrenheit), but with a warmest-ever temperature of around 30°C (upper 80s Fahrenheit). Places with this cooler climate include Cuernavaca Km 35, at 2,990 meters, or the Ajusco station at 2,839 meters. The highest regions, completely uninhabited, have an even cooler climate and thus can experience snowfall a few times a year.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The middle region of the Ajusco mountains is considered to hold the greatest wealth of flora in the Mexico basin. It holds around 1,000 identified plant species in only 80 km² of land surface. This wealth due to the convergence of different factors, such as:

• The wide range of altitudes, from about 2,400 to 3,000 meters above sea level, which has a climatic effect within the Park
• The structural nature of the lava flows that causes a great variety of micro-habitats
• The intersection of two biogeographic zones of the Continent: the Neartic and the Neotropical

The vegetation types of the middle regions of the Ajusco have been summarized as follows:

• Subtropical Bush, desertic bush: Occupying the lower regions up to 2,500 meters above sea level, making up an ecotone with the sclerophyllous temperate Bush. It is characterized by the presence of palo bobo, palo dulce, sena and a great variety of arbustive and herbaceous elements. It is a community that presents an important number of endemisms. It is estimated that this group of flora includes over 319 different species.

• Sclerophyllous Temperate Bush, desertic bush: This bush is typical of the ecotonic zones of subhumid-arid climate that run from California through Chiapas in an isolated way and is known as Chaparral. The predominant species is the oak, that in deep soil conditions grows to a height of more than 20 meters, but that on lava reaches only 3 meters. This community adds up to 166 of the total species registered in the zone.

• The vegetation of the Pedregal is constituted mainly by the so-called palo loco, which is a variety of heterogeneous bush with differences in its floral composition. The introduced Brazilian pepper tree can also be found, as well as oaks and various hardwood species. There are also pine trees, in the South and Southeast of the Xitle and the upper regions of the Ajusco. Lastly there are varieties of ocote (a pine tree), jacalote, oyamel (fir) and aile (alder).

The mountain region contains coniferous forests and diverse species of cedars, as well as the madrone, "cuchara" and huejote.

At the top of mountains and hills, together with pines and firs, there grows a large variety of ferns and mosses. In the surface of the soil in the pine-growing regions, there is a nutritious herbaceous cover that defends the soil against erosion. Tall grass grows abundantly: "mouse tail" zacatón, zacuyamaque, white zacate, "broom grass", and yellow grass. Between the bushes green jarilla, limoncillo, zarzal, escoba or perlilla, chia, hediondilla and mejorana grow.

Fauna

It is estimated that the forested lands of Tlalpan constitute some of the last refuges for wildlife in the Federal District and, according the National Biodiversity Committee, are in various states of danger because of the alteration that such ecosystems have suffered due to urban expansion and illegal hunting.

Species in danger of extinction include: teporingo or volcano rabbit, armadillo, huilota doves, white tailed deer, coyote, wild cat, white winged dove and various species of snake.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Committee for Fauna have made technical studies in the reproduction of native species in the area, specially the teporingo, squirrel, opposum, castilla rabbit, fox, eagle, sparrow, lark, woodpecker, butterflyies, insects and some reptiles such as coralillo or rattlesnakes, the last ones mainly in the ravines of the Ajusco.

Population

Tlalpan holds the 5th place amongst the boroughs of Mexico City and represents 6.76% of its total population.

Men: 278,570 (47.96%) Women: 302,206 (52.04%) Total: 580,776 (100%)

Culture and entertainment

The Six Flags Mexico amusement park is located in Tlalpan (Carretera Picacho-Ajusco). Inside Bosque de Tlalpan is "La Casa de la Cultura" (House of Culture), a museum and theater where different cultural shows and exhibits are continuously presented. The world's largest Mexican restaurant, Restaurante Arroyo, is located in Tlalpan.

Outdoor recreation

The forest of Bosque de Tlalpan features many jogging and hiking trails, as well as numerous newly constructed picnic shelters. In springtime the forest floor is carpeted with dozens of varieties of colourful wildflowers.

Higher Education

U.P.N., the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, is located in Tlalpan's north-west section on Blvd Picacho al Ajusco (Picacho Boulevard to Ajusco), next to El Colegio de Mexico. UPN is the country's national university for training teachers, and has more than 50 campuses nationwide; this campus in Mexico City is UPN's largest, with over 25,000 students. It is currently in the process of being separated from S.E.P. and becoming autonomous.

El Colegio de México (Colmex) was created during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (1934-1940), as a gesture of gratitude to all those Spanish intellectuals who came into the country during Spain's civil war. It was created on October 8, 1940 by the Federal Government, the Bank of Mexico, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Economic Culture Fund (FCE), with the purpose of doing research into social sciences and humanities, offering higher education (undergraduate and postgraduate levels), issuing books and journals on several subjects and working alongside other national and international academic institutions. The main specialty fields at Colmex (offered with a scholarship, which helps students to work full-time during their studies) are currently: history, linguistics, literature, translation, international studies, public administration, population, sociology, economy, Asian and African studies, demography, city planning studies, environmental studies, and women's studies. That gratitude was generated on both sides: many Spanish scientists and thinkers offered their abilities and work at "La Casa de España" ("The House of Spain," as Colmex was initially called) as professors and researchers. Alfonso Reyes and Daniel Cosío Villegas were the first two deans of El Colegio de México.

Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Ciudad de Mexico (Monterrey's Technology Institute, Mexico City Campus), a large private university, is located inside Tlalpan. It has around 12,000 students.

The Universidad Intercontinental (UIC), a large private university, is in the heart of Tlalpan. It has around 5,000 students.

Notable people

• Renato Leduc (1897–1986), poet and journalist

Photo gallery

Main Entrance to the old Hacienda Tlalpan (est. 1837), located on Calzada de Tlalpan	Entrance to the Parish of San Augustin de las Cuevas, located on the Plaza de la Constitucion in the centro of Tlalpan	Church of San Augustin de las Cuevas	The Edificio Delegacional or Borough Building, located at the center of Tlalpan borough off the Plaza Constitucional
Gazebo in the Jardin Principal (Main Garden) of the Plaza Constitucional	In the Jardin Principal. From this tree were the following men were hanged during the Mexican War of Independence: Colonels Felipe Muñoz and Vicente Martinez, Major Manuel Mutio, Captain Lorenzo Rivera and Lieutenant José Mutio	Main house at Instituto de la Ciencia y la Cultura de Tlalpan (Institute of Science and Culture of Tlalpan) Javier Barros Sierra, located at corner of Plaza Constitution and Moneda	Mural and tower located at the Instituto de la Ciencia y la Cultura de Tlalpan
Mural by Alejandro Quijano at the Juana de Asbaje Ecological Park	View of the Juana de Asbaje Park	Sidewalk cafes in a building to the north of the Plaza Constitucional	The Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center located on the Anillo Periférico beltway

External links

• (Spanish) Delegación Tlalpan Official site
• Images of Tlalpan
• (Spanish) Information about Tlalpan, and its political and ecological developments

Coordinates: 19°19′N 99°19′W / 19.317°N 99.317°W / 19.317; -99.317