Map of Yucatán
Yucatán is a first-level division of Mexico. Its largest mapped city is Mérida, with about 965,000 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Yucatán, and the tables list its 10 mapped cities along with the ports, World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 10
- Largest City
- Mérida
- Country
- Mexico
Interactive Map of Yucatán
About Yucatán
Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida.
Located on the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula, it is bordered by the states of Campeche to the southwest and Quintana Roo to the southeast, with the Gulf of Mexico off its northern coast.
Before the arrival of Spaniards, the peninsula was a very important region for the Maya civilization that reached the peak of its development here, where the Maya founded the cities of Chichen Itza, Izamal, Motul, Mayapan, Ek' Balam, and Ichkanzihóo (also called T'ho), now Mérida.
After the Spanish conquest of Yucatán (early 16th to late 17th centuries), the Yucatán Peninsula became a single administrative and political entity, the Captaincy General of Yucatán. Following Mexican independence in 1821 the local Governor proclaimed independence. Yucatán became part of the First Mexican Empire in December 1821. Following the collapse of the Empire in March 1823, the first Republic of Yucatán (founded in May 1823) voluntarily negotiated annexation to the Federal Republic of United Mexican States on December 21, 1823. On March 16, 1841, as a result of cultural and political conflicts around the federal pact, Yucatán declared its independence from Mexico, forming a second Republic of Yucatán. Eventually on July 14, 1848, Yucatán was forced to rejoin Mexico. In 1858, in the middle of the Caste War of Yucatán, the state of Yucatán was divided for the first time, establishing Campeche as a separate state (officially in 1863). During the Porfiriato, in 1902, the state of Yucatán was divided again to form the Federal territory that later became the present state of Quintana Roo.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Yucatán (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Yucatán in Depth
History
The origin of the first settlements has not been scientifically confirmed, although the presence of first humans in the area dates from the late Pleistocene or ice age (about 10,000–12,000 years), according to the findings in the Loltún caves and caverns of Tulum (Women of the Palms).
The first Maya moved to the Peninsula circa 250 CE, from the Petén (today northern Guatemala), to settle the southeastern peninsula in the modern Bacalar, Quintana Roo.
Geography
The State of Yucatán is located on the Yucatán Peninsula. It borders the states of Campeche to the southwest, Quintana Roo to the east and southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west. As a whole, the state is extremely flat with little or no topographic variation, with the exception of the Puuc hills, located in the southern portion of the state.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Yucatán (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Yucatán: Key Facts
| Population | 2,320,898 (2020) |
|---|---|
| Area | 39,612 km² |
| Capital | Mérida |
| Established | 1823 |
Facts from Wikidata Q60176 (CC0).
History of Yucatán: Empires and States
The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Yucatán, from Mayan City-States in 299 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| Mayan City-States | 299–849 CE |
| Later Mayan City-States | 850–1546 CE |
| The Spanish Empire | 1547–1821 CE |
| Federated Republic of Mexico | 1824–1864 CE |
| Centralist Mexico | 1836–1845 CE |
| Mexico | 1868–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Yucatán
Yucatán on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Yucatán
Yucatán is a state in the north western part of the Yucatán Peninsula, with its coastline facing the Gulf of Mexico. To the east is the state of Quintana Roo, home of Cancun and Cozumel; Campeche is to the south.
Yucatán is where the Chicxulub Crater is located; geologists say that this crater dates back approx 65 million years from the Earth's collision with a meteorite, and it is implicated with the extinction of the dinosaurs. Around 1000 AD, Yucatán was one of the centers of the Maya civilization. While their big cities and temples have fallen to ruins long before the arrival of the Spaniards the Maya people still make up much of the state's population. The Spanish came to conquer in the 1500s, and their descendants stayed and contributed to the historic heritage of Yucatán. In the late 1800s Henequen cactus was the "green gold" of Yucatan and was responsible for much of the wealth of Yucatan. Henequen made Yucatan into one of Mexico’s richest States. Today, one can still visit some of the henequen producing haciendas that reflect this wealth.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Yucatán (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Yucatán
10 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mérida | 965,000 | Yucatán | Admin-1 capital |
| 2 | Valladolid | 48,479 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 3 | Progreso | 47,124 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 4 | Tizimín | 41,993 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 5 | Ticul | 30,519 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 6 | Tekax | 22,806 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 7 | Motul | 21,253 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 8 | Peto | 17,607 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 9 | Izamal | 14,954 | Yucatán | Populated place |
| 10 | Halachó | 9,165 | Yucatán | Populated place |
Ports in Yucatán
2 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Yucatán
3 World Heritage Sites mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chichen Itza | 1989 | Cultural | (i) (ii) (iii) |
| 2 | Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal | 1996 | Cultural | (i) (ii) (iii) |
| 3 | Historic Fortified Town of Campeche | 1999 | Cultural | (ii) (iv) |
Yucatán: Quick Answers
- Where is Yucatán?
- Yucatán is a first-level division of Mexico, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 20.7293° N, 89.1745° W.
- What is the largest city in Yucatán?
- Mérida is the largest city mapped in Yucatán, with a metropolitan population of about 965,000.
- How many cities are in Yucatán?
- YearMaps maps 10 cities and towns in Yucatán, with a combined metropolitan population of about 1.22 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.