Catemaco Municipality is a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the state's Los Tuxtlas region. The municipal seat is the city of Catemaco.
In the 2005 INEGI Census, the municipality reported a total population of 46,702, of whom 22,965 lived in the municipal seat. Ethnic composition is primarily of mestizo origins. Indigenous language speakers number less than 500.
The municipality of Catemaco covers a total surface area of 710.67 km² along the Gulf of Mexico between the foothills of Volcano San Martín Tuxtla and the Sierra Santa Marta, and incorporate Laguna Catemaco and Laguna Sontecomapan plus a large part of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve. Catemaco borders the municipalities of San Andrés Tuxtla to the west, Hueyapan de Ocampo and Soteapan to the south and Tatahuicapan de Juárez and Mecayapan to the east.
Economically Catemaco depends on a mix of tourism, cattle ranching, fishery and agriculture. Statistically the municipality ranks as one of the poorer ones in Veracruz.
Settlements in the municipality
Catemaco (municipal seat; 2005 population 22,965) Sontecomapan (2,397) La Victoria, (1,757) Zapoapan de Cabañas (1,344) Maxacapan (990)
The municipality
The city of Catemaco is the local government for 258 communities, which cover a territory of 659.2km2. The municipality borders those of Mecayapan, Soteapan, Hueyapan de Ocampo and San Andrés Tuxtla, extending to the Gulf of Mexico in the north. The municipal government consists of a municipal president, a syndic and four representatives called regidors.
The municipality is rural with a population density of 73.7 people per km2, and only the seat considered to be urban. There a small community (297) of indigenous language speakers, mostly of Popoluca. Outside the seat, the main communities are Sontecomapan (pop. 2,413), La Victoria (1,842), Zapoapan de Cabañas (1,382) and San Juan Seco de Valencia (1,237).
The municipality has 166 schools that mostly serve students from the preschool to high school/vocational level with some adult and special education. There are fifteen libraries but a 17.1% illiteracy rate.
The municipality has 204 km of major roadways, mostly state-maintained local highways. The most important road is Federal Highway 180, which connects the municipality primarily to San Andrés Tuxtla. There are no rail lines.
Geography
The municipality is in the Los Tuxtlas mountain region in the south of Veracruz, a rugged area of recent volcanic origin. It is in a valley between the San Martín Volcano and the Santa Marta mountain ranges, extending from Lake Catemaco to the Gulf of Mexico shore, with an average altitude of 340 meters above sea level.
Flora and fauna
Most of the wild vegetation has been destroyed, with 391.6km2 used as pasture for animals, 50.8 km used for agriculture and 39.4km2 with secondary vegetation. Only 84.8km2 remains as rainforest and 81.2km2 is covered by water. The soil is poor in nutrients and highly susceptible to erosion. The remaining natural vegetation is high tropical perennial rainforest, giving way to wetland vegetation and mangroves near and on the Gulf coast. Native tree species include cedar, royal palm, palo de agua, (Brosimum alicastrum), , and (Equisetum arvense). The Nanciyaga Ecological Reserve preserve most of what is left of the rainforest that enveloped Lake Catemaco. Wildlife include small mammals such as squirrels, armadillos, rabbits, weasels and raccoons. Many bird species inhabit the lake area including herons, owls, cardinals and more. Numbers are highest in December with the arrival of migratory species. Spider monkeys were extinct but have been reintroduced in the Lake Catemaco area.
Climate
For most of the year, the climate is warm and humid. The average temperature ranges from 20 to 26C, with the coolest months from November to January and the warmest in the summer. It rains all year because of warm humid winds from the Gulf of Mexico, but annual totals vary from 1900mm to 4600mm. The quantity of rainfall also varies by season, with a relatively dry season from March to June, when totals are half that of the rest of the year. Winds are predominantly from the north. From February to October, most winds are from the northeast, which are warmer. From November to January cooler winds from the north dominate due to cold fronts from the north called “nortes.”