Celestún is a town in

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is located in the northwest corner of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, just north of the border with the state of

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

, on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

coast at .

On the town

In 2000, it had a population of just under 6,000 people; however, the population swells to 10,000 during the octopus hunting season. It is mostly a fishing town, with a 19th-century

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

(as well as a more modern one) and an abandoned historic

hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

. Besides fishing, Celestún also produces salt, as it has done from pre-Columbian times. Tourism is also making up an increasing portion of the town's economy, as the community has many kilometers of sand beaches and abundant wildlife. One of the busiest times for tourism is

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

, when people from around the region visit Celestun. Local folk-catholic traditions are abundant during this time, when the town's patron saint is floated out to sea surrounded by candles, and visited by the patron saint of nearby Kinchil. There is a church in the town built during the colonial period As the town of Celestun is the seat of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

(''municipio'') of Celestun, it attracts various carnivals, dances and musicians to its town square on a regular basis.

Geography

It is located in the northwest corner of the

, just north of the border with the state of

. Surrounding the town is the 147,500-acre (600 km²) Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve, a wetland reserve that is the winter home to vast flocks of

flamingos Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

, as well as many herons and other bird species. This location is set within the Petenes mangroves ecoregion. In addition, more than 200 species of birds pass through on migration, or live there.Brown, Clare. Brown, Karen. Stevenson Day, Jane ''-Karen Brown's Mexico: Exceptional Places to Stay and Itineraries'', page 141. Karen Brown's Guides, 2006. Celestun's ecosystem is unique because of a combination of freshwater from the century estuary and saltwater from the

. The reserve also has two types of pelicans - large white Canadian and smaller gray Mexican ones. Celestun is also known as a hatching ground for

endangered sea turtles Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of sea turtles a year are accidentally caught in shrimp trawl nets, on longline hooks and in fishing gill-nets. Sea turtles need to reach the surface to breathe, and therefore many drown once caught. Loggerhead a ...

. Wildlife conservationists have an ongoing project to protect the sea turtles from encroaching modernization.

Climate

Ecological park

Nearby there is the

Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve () is a biosphere reserve in Mexico. It is located on the northwestern Yucatán Peninsula in the states of Yucatán and Campeche. The reserve is home to extensive mangrove wetlands, and rich in birds and other wildli ...

Gallery

File:Celestún, Yucatán - Calle 12.jpg, Street in Celestún File:Celestún, Yucatán - lighthouse (1).jpg, The lighthouse in Celestún beach File:Celestun playa 2011.jpg, A beach by Celestún File:Jacob's Ladder in Celestun.jpg, The church in Celestún File:FLAMINGOS.jpg, Flamingos File:Beach - Celestún - 1999.jpg, A beach by Celestún, 1999

References

External links

Celestún Lagoon Photo EssayKarst and Colors on the Yucatán Peninsula near Celestún

NASA Earth Observatory NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information about the climate and the environment which are being provided by NASA for ...

, May 8, 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Celestun Populated places in Yucatán Tourism in Mexico