CAMPECHE

:'''Campeche' is the name of both a state in Mexico and its capital city. This article is about the state. For the city, see: Campeche, Campeche; for the Puerto Rican artist, see José Campeche.''
The 'State of Campeche' is a state in the south-east region of the Mexican Republic. It is bordered by the Mexican states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west. To the south it is bordered by the Petén department of Guatemala and to the west by the Gulf of Mexico.
The area of Campeche is , and the population was only 754,730 inhabitants at the 2005 census. This makes Campeche one of the states with the lowest population densities in Mexico (fifth behind Baja California Sur, Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua).
The capital city of the state is the city of San Francisco de Campeche, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
In addition to the city of Campeche, the state of Campeche includes the cities of Champotón, Ciudad del Carmen, and Escárcega, the towns of Bolonchén, Calkiní, Dzitbalché, Hecelchakán, Hopelchén, Lerma, Tenabo, and Sabancuy, and many ruins of the Maya civilization such as Becán, Calakmul, Silvituc, Dzibilnocac, Edzná, Hocchob, Holactún, Rio Bec, Uxul, Xicalango, Xpujil, and Xtampak.
''Campeche'' derives from the name of the Mayan city of 'Kan pech', which became today's San Francisco de Campeche.

Contents

History

Municipalities

Major communities

Demographics

External links

History

Before the Spanish Conquest, the territory that now is the State of Campeche was occupied by the Maya. The most important sites of the Classic Maya Period are Calakmul, Rio Bec, Edzná, Hormiguero and Becán. Another important site is the island of Jaina, just off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
Campeche was invaded by the Spaniards on March 22, 1517, during an exploratory expedition led by Francisco Fernandez de Córdoba. Among the crew were Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Antón de Alaminos.
The name of Campeche comes from the Mayan word "Ah Kim Pech", which means "The Place of Boa Serpent".
The State of Campeche was long a part of Yucatán and shared its history through the mid 19th century. Campeche broke away from Yucatán and became a separate state of the United Mexican States (''Estados Unidos Mexicanos'') on August 7, 1857.

Municipalities

Campeche is subdivided into 11 municipalities ''(municipios)''. See
municipalities of Campeche.

Major communities

★ Calkiní

★ Campeche

★ Candelaria

★ Champotón

★ Ciudad del Carmen

★ Dzitbalché

★ Escárcega

★ Hecelchakán

Demographics

★ Inhabitants: 754,730

★ Age Average: 24 years.

★ Annual Population Growth: 1.46%

★ Population at the Capital: 216,900.

★ Population that speaks a native tongue: 89,000.

★ Population that does not speak Spanish: 3,140
Data from the 'II Conteo de Población y Vivienda 2000', INEGI.

External links

★ Campeche State Government

★ Towns, cities, and postal codes in Campeche

★ Campeche on Yucatan Today - general tourist guide

★ Yucatan Living - living, working and playing in the Yucatan