Santo Domingo Petapa 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 south-western

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 232.2 km², at an average altitude of 250 meters above sea level, and is part of the

Juchitán District Juchitán District is located in the east of the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico and the easternmost district in Oaxaca, covering the southern part of a low-lying corridor through the mountains that separates the Gulf of ...

of the

Istmo de Tehuantepec Istmo de Tehuantepec is the largest region of the state of Oaxaca, located in southeastern Mexico. Geography It covers the southern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the shortest route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean before t ...

region. The climate is hot and humid with summer rains.

Flora and fauna

Flora include mahogany, cedar, oak, pine, pine, and Nopo guanacaste, deer, pochote, chiviveta, beo, mamey, taro and cassava. Wild fauna include boar, badger, raccoon, armadillo, squirrel, wild cat and rabbit.

Demography

As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 7,583 of whom 2,696 spoke indigenous languages. A painting on cotton cloth from 1540 depicts the town and its neighbor Guevea de Humboldt. The picture records the history of the people from the time of their migration from

Zaachila Zaachila (the Zapotec name; Nahuatl: ''Teotzapotlan''; Mixtec: ''Ñuhu Tocuisi'') was a powerful Mesoamerican city in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico, from the city of Oaxaca. The city is named after Zaachila Yoo, the Zapotec ruler, in the late 14 ...

up to the Spanish conquest, and was designed to establish ancient property rights.

Economy

The main economic activity is coffee cultivation. The people also grow corn, beans, pineapple, citrus, melon and watermelon, raise cattle, horses, pigs and poultry, and engage in logging. The

Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Uni ...

, a cooperative founded in 1982, assists in production and distribution of the local products, notably coffee, under a fair trade label.

External links

References

{{Juchitán District Municipalities of Oaxaca