Map of Oaxaca
Oaxaca is a first-level division of Mexico. Its largest mapped city is Oaxaca, with about 530,728 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Oaxaca, and the tables list its 10 mapped cities along with the mountains, ports, World Heritage Sites nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 10
- Largest City
- Oaxaca
- Country
- Mexico
- Highest Point Mapped
- 3,750 m
Interactive Map of Oaxaca
About Oaxaca
Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipalities, of which 418 (almost three quarters) are governed by the system of usos y costumbres (customs and traditions) with recognized local forms of self-governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.
Oaxaca is in Southern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, and Chiapas to the east. To the south, Oaxaca has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
The state is best known for its Indigenous peoples and cultures. The most numerous and best known are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, but 16 are officially recognized. These cultures have survived better than most others in Mexico due to the state's rugged and isolating terrain. Most live in the Central Valleys region, which is also an economically important area for tourism, with people attracted for its archeological sites such as Monte Albán, and Mitla, and its various native cultures and crafts. Another important tourist area is the coast, which has the major resort of Huatulco and sandy beaches of Puerto Escondido, Puerto Ángel, Zipolite, Bahia de Tembo, and Mazunte. Oaxaca is also one of Mexico's most biologically diverse states, ranking in the top three, along with Chiapas and Veracruz, for numbers of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and plants.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Oaxaca (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Oaxaca in Depth
History
The name of the state comes from the name of its capital city, Oaxaca. This name comes from the Nahuatl word Huaxyacac, which refers to a tree called a guaje in Spanish (Leucaena leucocephala) found around the capital city. The name was originally applied to the Valley of Oaxaca by Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs and passed on to the Spanish during the conquest of the Oaxaca region. The modern state was created in 1824, and the state seal was designed by Alfredo Canseco Feraud and approved by the government of Eduardo Vasconcelos. "Huaxyacac" [waːʃ.ˈja.kak] was transliterated as "Oaxaca" using Medieval Spanish orthography, in which the x represented the voiceless postalveolar fricative ([ʃ], the equivalent of English sh in "shop"), making "Oaxaca" pronounced as [waˈʃaka].
Geography
The state of Oaxaca is located in Southeastern Mexico, bordered by the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Chiapas and Guerrero, with the Pacific Ocean to the south. It has a territory of 93,967 km2 (36,281 sq mi), accounting for less than 5% of Mexico's territory. Here several mountain chains come together, with the elevation varying from sea level to 3,759 m (12,333 ft) asl, averaging at 1,500 m (4,921 ft) asl. Oaxaca has one of the most rugged terrains in Mexico, with mountain ranges that abruptly fall into the sea. Between these mountains are mostly narrow valleys, canyons and ravines. Major elevations in the state include Zempoaltepetl (3,396 m or 11,142 ft asl), El Espinazo del Diablo, Nindú Naxinda Yucunino and Cerro Encantado. Oaxaca has 533 km (331 mi) of coastline with nine major bays.
Economy
According to the Mexican government agency Conapo (National Population Council), Oaxaca is the third most economically marginalized state in Mexico. The state has 3.3% of the population but produces only 1.5% of the GNP. The main reason for this is the lack of infrastructure and education, especially in the interior of the state outside of the capital. Eighty percent of the state's municipalities do not meet federal minimums for housing and education. Most development projects are planned for the capital and the surrounding area. Little has been planned for the very rural areas and the state lacks the resources to implement them. The largest sector of Oaxaca's economy is agriculture, mostly done communally in ejidos or similar arrangements.
Demographics
The state has a total population of about 3.5 million, with women outnumbering men by 150,000 and about 60% of the population under the age of 30. It is ranked tenth in population in the country. Fifty three percent of the population lives in rural areas. Most of the state's population growth took place between 1980 and 1990. Life expectancy is 71.7 for men and 77.4 for women, just under the national average. Births far outpace deaths.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Oaxaca (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Oaxaca: Key Facts
| Population | 3,967,889 (2015) |
|---|---|
| Area | 93,793 km² |
| Capital | Oaxaca de Juárez |
| Head of government | Alejandro Murat Hinojosa |
| Established | 1824 |
Facts from Wikidata Q34110 (CC0).
History of Oaxaca: Empires and States
The atlas records 8 polities whose mapped territory included part of Oaxaca, from Zapotec Civilization in 91 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| Zapotec Civilization | 91 BCE – 895 CE |
| The Aztec Empire | 1502–1520 CE |
| Aztec Triple Alliance | 1502–1520 CE |
| The Spanish Empire | 1521–1821 CE |
| Mexicans | 1812–1819 CE |
| Federated Republic of Mexico | 1824–1864 CE |
| Centralist Mexico | 1836–1845 CE |
| Mexico | 1868–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Oaxaca
Oaxaca 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.
Largest Cities in Oaxaca
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 | Oaxaca | 530,728 | Oaxaca | Admin-1 capital |
| 2 | Salina Cruz | 81,063 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 3 | Juchitan | 67,637 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 4 | Huajuapan de León | 47,844 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 5 | Tehuantepec | 42,776 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 6 | Pochutla | 24,481 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 7 | Tlaxiaco | 21,391 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 8 | Puerto Escondido | 19,488 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 9 | Miahuatlán | 17,632 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
| 10 | Mitla | 7,547 | Oaxaca | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Oaxaca
1 mountain mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerro Nube Flan | 3,750 m | 12,303 ft | North America |
Ports in Oaxaca
1 port 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.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salina Cruz | 34.7 m | Small | Pacific Coast of North & Central America | large vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Oaxaca
2 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 | Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán | 1987 | Cultural | (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) |
| 2 | Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca | 2010 | Cultural | (iii) |
Oaxaca: Quick Answers
- Where is Oaxaca?
- Oaxaca is a first-level division of Mexico, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 16.5927° N, 96.4126° W.
- What is the largest city in Oaxaca?
- Oaxaca is the largest city mapped in Oaxaca, with a metropolitan population of about 530,728.
- How many cities are in Oaxaca?
- YearMaps maps 10 cities and towns in Oaxaca, with a combined metropolitan population of about 860,587. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
- What is the highest mountain in Oaxaca?
- The highest summit mapped in Oaxaca is Cerro Nube Flan at 3,750 m.