Cozumel
Cozumel
Cozumel (Mayan: Island of the Swallows) is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is one of the eight municipalities (municipios) of the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a popular tourist destination renowned for its scuba diving. The main town on the island is San Miguel.
The island is about 48 km (30 miles) north-south and 16 km (10 miles) east-west, and is the largest island of Mexico. It is about 20 km (12 miles) from the mainland, and some 60 km (36 miles) south of Cancún. Nearly everybody in Cozumel lives in the town of San Miguel (pop. est. 90,000 in 2003), which is on the western shore. The rest of the island is low, flat, and densely vegetated.
History
Ancient Maya ruin in CozumelThe Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the 1st millennium AD, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well. The island was sacred to Ix Chel, the Maya Moon Goddess, and the temples here were a place of pilgrimage, especially by women desiring fertility. There are a number of ruins on the island, most from the Post-Classic period. The largest Maya ruins on the island were bulldozed to make way for an airplane runway during World War II. The ruins of San Gervasio are located approximately at the center of the island and are the largest remaining ruins.
The first Spanish visitor was Juan de Grijalva in 1518, and in the following year Hernán Cortés came with a fleet and destroyed many Mayan temples. Some 40,000 Maya lived on the island then, but smallpox devastated them and by 1570 only 30 were left alive. In the ensuing years Cozumel was nearly deserted, used as a hideout by pirates from time to time. In 1848, the Caste War of Yucatán resulted in resettlement by refugees escaping the tumult.
In 1959, Jacques Cousteau discovered the extent and beauty of Palancar, the coral reefs at the south of Cozumel and publicized it as one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world. Although the original airport was a World War II relic and was able to handle jet aircraft and international flights, a much larger airport was built in the late 1970s. This resulted in much greater tourism to Cozumel.
Diving is still a primary draw, but Cozumel built a deepwater pier in the 1990s (causing some damage to the reefs) so that cruise ships could easily dock there, and it is now a regular stop on cruises in the Caribbean.
The island was struck directly by two Category 4 hurricanes during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Emily and Hurricane Wilma, which together devastated much of the infrastructure and tourism industry on the island. Several successful efforts have been made to reconstruct damaged areas.
Singer Kirsty MacColl died on this island, after a tragic accident on December 18, 2000 in which she was hit by a speedboat.
Geography
Cozumel Island as seen from space, May 1996Cozumel is a flat island based on porous volcanic rock. The highest natural point on the island is less than 100 meters above sea level. The Cenotes are deep water filled sinkholes formed by water percolating through the soft limestone soil during thousands of years. Cenotes can be explored by snorkeling, swimming or diving, in which several marine species can be appreciated. Ancient inhabitants of the island also used the large holes in the rocks for shelter, particularly to escape the heat, by digging out small caves in the ground.
Biodiversity
Cozumel has a number of endemic species and subspecies of bird including:
Underwater, one very well known endemic species is: the Splendid Toadfish
Demographics
Cozumel has not enough resources that would allow it to be self-sufficient, so it relies on tourism for income. All food and manufactured supplies are shipped onto the island.
There are two universities on the island: UQROO and Partenon and in addition to teaching english as a degree, they hold other five career options such as natural resources research, tourism and commercial systems.
Government
Cozumel is part of the State of Quintana-Roo (Q-Roo). The Municipality of Cozumel consists of the island of Cozumel and a piece of adjacent mainland.
The “Presidente Municipal” Mayor of Cozumel is elected every 4 years by citizen elections. The current Mayor of Cozumel belongs to the PAN party and his name is Gustavo Ortega.
Current events
Cozumel seen through the eye of Hurricane Wilma.Hurricane Wilma was devastating to the island. The usually lush rainforest has been sheered off. The tops of trees are missing and there are no leaves on the highest five feet of almost every tree. A significant amount of vegetation was ruined when salt water washed over the island. The sewers of San Miguel were also heavily damaged.
Reconstruction was swift and concerted. Even before the hurricane was clear the supplies needed to restore the island were already being gathered on mainland Mexico. While many treetops remain bare and sewer construction creates traffic problems, the island is currently being restored for tourism.
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