Santiago Choapam (or Choapan) is a town and

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' ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in southern

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 ...

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 312.1 km². It is part of the

Choapam District Choapam District is located in the south of the Papaloapan Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the U ...

in the south of the

Papaloapan Region The Cuenca del Papaloapan Region is in the north of the southeastern Mexican state of Oaxaca, where the foothills of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca meet the coastal plain of Veracruz. The principal city is San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, the second large ...

. Communities include Santiago Choapam, San Juan del Rio, Santa Maria Yahuivé, Maninaltepec, San Yaveloxi Jacinto, San Juan Teotalcingo and Santo Domingo. The municipality is on average 840 meters above sea level, with a hot and humid climate and a wet summer. The main rivers are the Lágrimas River and the Santa María Yahuive River. The forests contain cedar, avocado, mahogany and pine, mosses, ferns and palms. There is a great variety of wildlife, including bobcats or ocelots, puma, jaguar, fox, skunk and deer.

Freshwater crab Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight family (biology), families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine c ...

and shrimp are found the in streams and rivers.

Demography

As of 2010, the municipality had 1,244 households with a total population of 5,413. Of these 45.1% spoke an indigenous language, mostly Choapan Zapotec but with

Chinantec The Chinantec or Chinantecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean family. Though traditionally considered a single language, ''Ethnologue'' lists 14 partially mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinantec. The languages are spoken b ...

minorities. Most people are engaged in agriculture, growing Manila mangos, banana, orange, lemon, sugar cane, custard apple, sweet potato and granaditas, or in forestry. Some cattle breeding is also practiced. There is no industry, and negligible tourism.

References

Municipalities of Oaxaca {{Oaxaca-geo-stub