Yucatán Peninsula

Yucatán Peninsula, peninsula, southern North America and northern Central America, projecting into the Atlantic Ocean, separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea. It contains the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and part of Tabasco; all of Belize; and part of northern Guatemala. Physiographically, the peninsula is a coralline limestone tableland with an average elevation of less than 152 m (500 ft), except in parts of the south, where projecting spurs rise to a height of about 460 m (1,500 ft). It has an area of about 181,300 sq km (70,000 sq mi). Distinctive topographical features of the northern portion are the numerous limestone caverns and underground channels into which rainwater drains. The climate is generally hot, moderated by the trade winds. Maximum precipitation occurs in summer; the average rainfall ranges from about 510 mm (20 in) annually in the north to about 2,030 mm (80 in) in the extreme south.

In the north, henequen, a member of the sisal hemp family used in the production of twine and rope, forms the basis of an important local industry. Along the coast are fisheries; to the north and west are offshore oil wells in the Bay of Campeche. In the humid south are sections of forest where mahogany and other valuable timber are harvested, generally under government controls. Agriculture is important to the peninsula, and the chief crops include coffee, maize, cotton, sugar cane, henequen, and tobacco. The chief exports are chicle, used in the manufacture of chewing gum, and henequen. Tourism has become an important industry. The Mexican government began to develop Cancún into a major Caribbean resort in the 1970s. In addition, the ruins of the Maya civilization at Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Tikal (all UNESCO World Heritage Sites), and other sites have attracted increasing numbers of modern-day pilgrims. The largest city on the peninsula is Mérida, capital of Yucatán State; other important cities are Campeche, capital of Campeche State, and Belmopan, capital of Belize.

The Maya, whose highly developed civilization was at its peak in the pre-Columban period, still form the bulk of the rural population. The first European explorers in Yucatán were the Spanish, who arrived early in the 16th century. The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés crossed the base of the peninsula in 1525. Spain began the conquest of the Maya a few years later, and by 1549 approximately half the peninsula was under Spanish domination. Spain's hegemony over much of the region continued until early in the 19th century, when Mexico and Central America won independence. Yucatán and Campeche were constituted as separate states of Mexico in 1862; Quintana Roo was made a territory in 1902 and a state in 1975.