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More Information about
Oaxaca
State and
City Info
All About
Oaxaca
OaxacaInfo
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the Dead
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District of Putla |
State of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca is a
state with tradition, a glorious historic past and is the pride of
Mexico. The state of Oaxaca was created by decree of the H. Congress
of the Union, on February 3, 1824. Its name originates from the
náhuatl Huaxyacac, that signifies “In the nose of the pod”.
It is located in the south of Mexico, and covers the territory of
the Southern Sierra Madre, the Sierra Madre of Oaxaca, and the
Sierra Atravesada. Being mountainous, there are a multitude of
valleys, among them are Nochixtlán and Nejapa. It is surrounded by
the rivers Papaloapan, Coatzacoalcos, Mixteco, Atoyac and the River
Tehuantepec.
The surface area is 95,364 square kilometers; representing 4.8% of
the national total. In total surface area, Oaxaca is fifth in size
after the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila and Durango.
Framed in a complicated and capricious orography, the state is
divided into 570 municipalities and in more than 9 thousand
localities that enjoy various microclimates.
The total population of Oaxaca is approaching 3.3 million
inhabitants.
The population is distributed half rural and half urban, and from
the demographic point of view, the population is concentrated in the
cities of Oaxaca of Juárez (the capital), Juchitán de Zaragoza, Loma
Bonita, Salina Cruz and San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec. The pan-american
highways and transístmica are the main ways of communication.
There are 16 linguistic groups that live in various regions of the
state: amuzgos, chatino, chinanteco, chocho, chontal, cuicateco,
huave, ixcateco, mazateco, mixe, mixteco, náhuatl, triqui, zapoteco,
zoque and the popoloca (which are indanger of extinction). Almost
two million inhabitants are natives, which signifies that 6 of each
10 Oaxaqueños belong to some ethnic group.
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