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Celestún

Coordinates: 20°51′30″N 90°24′0″W / 20.85833°N 90.40000°W / 20.85833; -90.40000
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Celestun
Town
Celestun is located in Yucatán (state)
Celestun
Celestun
Celestun is located in Mexico
Celestun
Celestun
Coordinates: 20°51′30″N 90°24′0″W / 20.85833°N 90.40000°W / 20.85833; -90.40000
Country Mexico
State Yucatán
Government
 • Municipal PresidentAraci Guadalupe Villanueva Pinto [1]
Population
 (2005[2][3])
 • Total6,269
 Municipality
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
INEGI Code011
Major AirportMerida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA CodeMID
ICAO CodeMMMD
WebsiteNuestros municipios - Celestún

Celestún is a town in Yucatán, Mexico. It is located in the northwest corner of the state, just north of the border with the state of Campeche, on the Gulf of Mexico coast at 20°51.5′N 90°24′W / 20.8583°N 90.400°W / 20.8583; -90.400.

On the town

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In 2000, it had a population of just under 6,000 people; however, the population swells to 10,000 during the octopus hunting season. It is mostly a fishing town, with a 19th-century lighthouse (as well as a more modern one) and an abandoned historic hacienda[citation needed]. Besides fishing, Celestún also produces salt, as it has done from pre-Columbian times[citation needed]. Tourism is also making up an increasing portion of the town's economy, as the community has many kilometers of sand beaches and abundant wildlife.

One of the busiest times for tourism is Holy Week, when people from around the region visit Celestun. Local folk-catholic traditions are abundant during this time, when the town's patron saint is floated out to sea surrounded by candles, and visited by the patron saint of nearby Kinchil. There is a church in the town built during the colonial period

As the town of Celestun is the seat of the municipality (municipio) of Celestun, it attracts various carnivals, dances and musicians to its town square on a regular basis.

City hall, in Celestún

Geography

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It is located in the northwest corner of the state, just north of the border with the state of Campeche.

Surrounding the town is the 147,500-acre (600 km2) Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve, a wetland reserve that is the winter home to vast flocks of flamingos, as well as many herons and other bird species. This location is set within the Petenes mangroves ecoregion.[4] In addition, more than 200 species of birds pass through on migration, or live there.[5] Celestun's ecosystem is unique because of a combination of freshwater from the century estuary and saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. The reserve also has two types of pelicans - large white Canadian and smaller gray Mexican ones. Celestun is also known as a hatching ground for endangered sea turtles. Wildlife conservationists have an ongoing project to protect the sea turtles from encroaching modernization.

A beach in Celestún

Climate

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Climate data for Celestún
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 29
(84)
29.9
(85.8)
32
(90)
34.3
(93.7)
35
(95)
34.3
(93.7)
33.8
(92.8)
33.5
(92.3)
32.9
(91.2)
31.7
(89.1)
30.2
(86.4)
29.1
(84.4)
32
(90)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 17.3
(63.1)
17.6
(63.7)
19.0
(66.2)
20.7
(69.3)
22
(72)
22.5
(72.5)
22
(72)
22.3
(72.1)
22.4
(72.3)
21.7
(71.1)
20
(68)
18.0
(64.4)
20.5
(68.9)
Average precipitation cm (inches) 2.5
(1)
2.0
(0.8)
0.76
(0.3)
1.0
(0.4)
3.6
(1.4)
11
(4.3)
12
(4.9)
12
(4.8)
14
(5.7)
8.6
(3.4)
3.3
(1.3)
2.8
(1.1)
75
(29.4)
Source: Weatherbase [6]

Ecological park

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Flamingo flying near Celestun

Nearby there is the Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve.

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Waters in Celestun

References

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  1. ^ "Nuestros municipios - Celestún". Archived from the original on 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  2. ^ "Encyclopedia of the Municipalities of Mexico: Yucatan". Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  3. ^ Census Results by Locality, 2005 Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine INEGI.
  4. ^ World Wildlife Fund. eds. Mark McGinley, C.Michael Hogan & C. Cleveland. 2010. Petenes mangroves. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC Archived October 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Brown, Clare. Brown, Karen. Stevenson Day, Jane -Karen Brown's Mexico: Exceptional Places to Stay and Itineraries, page 141. Karen Brown's Guides, 2006. ISBN 1-933810-10-6
  6. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Celestún, Yucatán". Weatherbase. 2011.Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
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