Lagunas de Zempoala National Park

Lagunas de Zempoala National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Map showing the location of Lagunas de Zempoala National Park
Location Huitzilac Municipality, Morelos / Ocuilan Municipality, State of Mexico
Nearest city Mexico City
Coordinates 19°03′21″N 99°19′12″W / 19.05587°N 99.3201°W / 19.05587; -99.3201Coordinates: 19°03′21″N 99°19′12″W / 19.05587°N 99.3201°W / 19.05587; -99.3201
Area 4,790 hectares (11,800 acres)
Established November 27, 1936[1]
Governing body Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources

Lagunas de Zempoala National Park is a natural protected area which consists of a group of seven lagoons. In the Nahuatl language, "Zempoala" means "place of many waters." The park is located between the states of Morelos and State of Mexico, Mexico.

Geography

The lagoons of Zempoala are located in a biological corridor named Chichinautzin, between the municipalities of Ocuilan de Arteaga, at the southwestern section of State of Mexico and Huitzilac, northwestern section of the state of Morelos, 50 km away from Mexico City.[2]

The National Park covers about 4,700 hectares (12,000 acres)[3] and lies at an elevation of about 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) above sea level.[4]

The Park

The Park consists of seven lagoons: Zempoala, Compila, Tonatihua, Seca, Ocoyotongo, Quila, and Hueyapan[5] which are supplied with water through rain and the rivers descending from the Ajusco and the surrounding mountains.[6] Three of the lagoons (Zempoala, Tonatihua, and Prieta) have water the whole year, and the other four are seasonal.[7]

Flora and fauna

The abundant forests surrounding the park include different types of trees such as oaks, cedars, pine trees and firs. In the park there is a possibility of finding a great variety of mammals such as deer,[8] foxes, weasels, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, birds (such as falcons, hummingbirds and sparrows), and amphibians such as the Axolotl.[9]

Decree

The Zempoala lagoons were granted the title of national park on November 27, 1936 by the president of Mexico,[10] and the decree was modified in May 1947[11] to reduce the parks territory to its current 4,700 hectares.

Travel advisory

As of May 2015, the U.S. Department of State's travel warning for Mexico advises U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Lagunas de Zempoala National Park due to high rates of crime in the area connected to the Mexican Drug War.[12]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.conanp.gob.mx/sig/decretos/parques/Zempoala.pdf
  2. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  3. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  4. ↑ "lagunas de zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  6. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  7. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  8. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  9. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  10. ↑ "El parque nacional lagunas de zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  11. ↑ "Lagunas de Zempoala". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  12. ↑ "Mexico Travel Warning". U.S. Department of State.
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