9781422286913

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There is beautiful scenery throughout mountainous Chiapas, including the steep walls of the Canyon de Sumidero in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

The Land

M exico’s Pacific South is a land rich in history and natural resources. These states—Colima, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas—are a diverse mixture of mountains and tropical vegetation. They are sometimes shaken by earthquakes and volcanoes, or tossed and flooded by hurricanes, but their beauty remains. Colima is one of the smallest states in Mexico, with only 2,106 square miles (5,455 square kilometers) in total, only 0.3 percent of Mexico’s total land. But this small area has a great variety of environments within it, from warm and humid temperatures at an average 78º Fahrenheit (26º Celsius) in the Armería River valley near the center of the state, to a brisker 62ºF (17ºC) in the higher altitudes to the northwest. The coast of Colima is at the latitude of 19º north, the same as Jamaica and Hawaii. Between December and February you can find the coolest temperatures for this area, although nothing like the North American winter. The weather is warm for most of the rest of the year, with the rainy season running between June and October; providing needed moisture to the forest after the hot and humid months of July and August. Unfortunately, the rainy season is also the hurricane season, and these powerful storms often batter Mexico’s Pacific coast.

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