The Municipio of Catemaco
The municipio of Catemaco is located app. 100 miles south of Veracruz City, in the center of the Sierra Los
Tuxtlas along the Gulf in east central Mexico.

It is the most visited county in Los Tuxtlas, harboring app. 47,000 inhabitants (2005).

The county occupies the valleys of Lake Catemaco and Laguna Sontecomapan and is hemmed to the west
by the slopes of Volcano San Martin Tuxtla, to the east by the slopes of the Sierra Santa Marta and to the
north by the Gulf of Mexico.

Aside from the large central lake and the coastal lagoon, there are several other lakes and dozens of small
streams, riddled with rapids and waterfalls that crisscross the landscape.
The Catemaco economy enjoys a rich mix of tourism, cattle
part of federal and state election districts headquartered in San
To the west the county borders on the municipio of San
Andrés Tuxtla, south to Hueyapan de Ocampo, and east to
Soteapan, Tatahuicapan de Júarez and Mecayapan.  11 miles
of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico hem the county to the
north.

Central coordinates for Catemaco are:
18° 25′ 00″ N, 95° 07′ 00″ W.
The City of Catemaco
draft
More than half of the county's 275 square miles are protected
by the, mostly in name only, Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve.

Archaeological finds indicate an Olmec presence in the
municipio before 0 BC. A civilization influenced by the
Teotihuacan empire has also been documented in the area,
with a settlement of perhaps 35,000 in Matacapan between
San Andrés Tuxtla and Catemaco.

The first hispanic mention of "Acatemaco" as a landholding of
Santiago Tuxtla occurred in 1580.  Officially Catemaco was
founded in 1774.
The climate is subtropical, averaging 76f year round. The
The hottest month is May, averaging 84f high temperatures,
with most rainfall occurring July to October. Average rain per
month is 6.8 inches, but can reach up 2 feet of rain in a day in
areas exposed to rain laden cold fronts arriving from the Golf.

A small Virgin statue of supposedly miraculous origin housed in
an impressive basilica annually attracts 10´s of thousands of
pilgrims seeking the Virgin's miracles.

The undeveloped coastal area features the village of La Barra.
The most visited attractions are islands stocked with monkeys
in Laguna Catemaco.
The city occupies about 2 miles along Laguna Catemaco from the edge of the Rio Grande to Playa Espagoya,
and reaches inland to the slopes of the volcanic hills Mono Blanco and Nixtamalapan.

Officially recognized as a village in 1823 with a population of 1,100, the city now claims more than 26,000 inhabitants
(2005) who live in 6,400 mostly small houses on tiny lots.

The first paved highway reached Catemaco in 1953 and by 2000 the population had increased almost 500%. In 1966 the
town was officially declared Ciudad de Catemaco (city of Catemaco).

Catemaco's best known physical attractions are the Basilica del Carmen, El Tegal and the Malecon.
El Tegal is a cave on the Laguna shore a short walk north of the city and serves as a religious shrine. The Basilica has
its roots in a construction from 1799, but was only terminated in its current shape in 1957?. The Malecon was completed
in 1999 and has not been maintained since.

Catemaco's saving grace is its border with the Laguna and its sloping terrain which permits vistas of the surrounding
volcanic hills. Most of the downtown streets are paved and in deplorable conditions.

The city is economically challenged and development is stagnant. More than half of its people receive federal, state and
local subsidies.
The only major towns are the same named county seat with a population of 26,141, Sontecomapan
(2,374), and La Victoria (1,804), plus another 10 communities with more than 500 inhabitants.
Population density is 66/km2,  and growth is positive: 1995 (44,321), 2005 (46,702).

Illiteracy runs 22%, and on the poverty scale the municipio ranks at 1302 out of 2454.
App. 4,100 families received 39 million pesos in 2008 of "Oportunidades" welfare funds.
69.2% of employed workers earned less than 2 minimum wages in 2005.

The 2008 municipal budget was 74.8 million pesos, 1602 pesos per inhabitant.

The municipio occupies 711 km², of which 242 km² are in 30 ejidos or agricultural cooperatives,
which have 2500 owners of whom only 252 are women.
154 km² are dedicated to livestock, 2.7 million liters of milk were produced, 271 tons of eggs were laid
and 4761 cattle were slaughtered in 2007.
Agriculture on 48 km²  harvests mostly corn, coffee and some oranges.

Catemaco has a 163 km road net and as of 2007, 4098 vehicles were registered, plus 15,700 horses.

Central coordinates are 18°25′ 0″ N, 95°7′ 0″ W,  and the central altitude is 340 m.
The highest elevation is probably around 1600 m. The cost is 18 km long.
Most of the northern and eastern part of the county is part of the Biosphere Reserve of Los Tuxtlas.
Almost 200% is considered part of the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas

Catemaco is part of the
Region: Los Tuxtlas
Distrito electoral local: XXV San Andrés Tuxtla  
Distrito electoral federal: XIX San Andrés Tuxtla  

The municipio borders:
North: Gulf of México  
South: Soteapan and Hueyapan
East: Mecayapan
West: San Andrés Tuxtla
Catemaco
Veracruz, Mexico