The Yucatan Peninsula

The Yucatan Peninsula has a very interesting landscape and climate that is filled with ruins of the ancient Mayan Civilization. The Yucatan Peninsula does not have rolling hills or steep mountains, instead it is a mostly flat sheet of limestone. There are no rivers or streams, instead the water flows in underground aquifers and has created cenotes and sinkholes. Due to the Yucatan Peninsulas unique geographical location, it has a tropical humid climate (otherwise known as a tropical savannah climate) with a dry and a wet season.

The Yucatan Peninsula is a buildup of coral, limestone, and other sediments that rose from the ocean floor as the sea level dropped. The landscape of the Yucatan Peninsula is mostly flat with very little soil. There

It has a pronounced wet and dry season with the dry season occurring in the winter months and the wet season occurring in the summer months. During the wet season, the Yucatan Peninsula receives lots of rain with massive thunderstorms, while during the dry season plants and crops turn brown and struggle to survive and there is no rain to be seen. The average temperature of the Yucatan is around 80o Fahrenheit (Augustin and Cooper, 256). The climate is affected by many things, such as the latitude, altitude, and wind systems of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Yucatan Peninsula is located very close to the Tropic of Cancer (23 ½o north) which gives it it’s tropical savannah climate. Also, due to the low altitude of the Yucatan Peninsula the temperature is warmer and the radiation from the Sun hits it at an angle higher than that of an area with high altitude. The wind systems can cause a change in pressure which controls the temperature of the region. The higher the pressure, the higher the temperature. Ocean currents (the Gulf Stream and Canary Currents), which are mainly caused by wind systems, can influence the temperature and climate as well. Due to the Yucatan Peninsula’s location and the ocean and wind currents, hurricanes and other tropical storms occur frequently. In September of 1988, a category 5 hurricane (Hurricane Gilbert) with strong winds of up to 218 mph, swept

Bishop Diego de Landa, an early Spanish priest, said “Yucatan is the country with the least earth that I have ever seen, since all of it is one living rock” (Augustin and Cooper, 256). The soil that is present is often categorized as alfisols, more specifically, xeralfs. Alfisols are brown, carbonate – rich, and can be productive when fertilized (Augustin and Cooper, 43). This type of soil occurs in areas with a pronounced dry season. While many states in Mexico are rich with natural resources, such as silver and petroleum, the Yucatan Peninsula has none.

The Yucatan Peninsula itself has no natural resources at all. No oil, very little crops, no silver or gold, etc. However, the Yucatan Peninsula does have industry, more specifically, factories. Textile and fabric factories as well as others help the economy of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Yucatan Peninsula also has white sandy beaches, clear blue water, and nice warm weather. Because the Yucatan Peninsula has these things, it makes a great vacation spot and is the number one tourist destination in Mexico and the Caribbean basin (Augustin and Cooper,