The Boca Paila Peninsula, also known as Sian Ka'an, is on the southern
Yucatán Peninsula coast, within
Tulum municipality of the state of
Quintana Roo in southeastern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
[Bocapailapreserve.com: Boca Paila Preserve at Sian Kaan website]
/ref>
Geography
The narrow peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
is about long. It separates Boca Paila Lagoon from the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
. The peninsula is the only land connection between the fishing village of Punta Allen on it, and the town of Tulum on the mainland, via a dirt road.
It overlooks the Great Mayan Reef
The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef, is a marine region that stretches over along the coasts of four countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras – from Isla C ...
in the Caribbean.[
A bridge that spans the outlet of the lagoon to the Caribbean Sea is popular with sport fishers and fly-fishers.
]
Boca Paila Preserve
Part of the island is protected as the private Boca Paila Preserve, within the Unesco Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.[ Within the Sian Ka’an Reserve there are 103 known mammal species and 336 known bird species.][
]
See also
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References
Peninsulas of Mexico
Landforms of Quintana Roo
Tulum (municipality)
Protected areas of Quintana Roo
Mexican coast of the Caribbean
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