THE 4 MOST OUTSTANDING NATURAL RESOURCES OF CHIAPAS - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

Chiapas's main natural resources are its rich and diverse fauna, its varied ecosystems, mining, and coffee and cocoa plantations.

Chiapas is one of the southernmost states of Mexico. It is a border territory with Guatemala, to the east, and its coast is bathed by the Pacific Ocean. With just over five million inhabitants, it is one of the most populated in the country.

Chiapas is one of the Mexican states with the greatest biodiversity

Chiapas is a very diverse state from the natural point of view. Its orography and latitude cause great contrasts of flora and fauna between different parts of the region.

The main tourist attraction of Chiapas are its archaeological zones. These deposits attract many curious who want to discover the past of the country.

Demographically, Chiapas is one of the regions with the highest concentration of indigenous population in Mexico.

The main natural resources of Chiapas

1- Fauna

Due to its tropical geographic location, Chiapas probably has the greatest biodiversity in the country. On the border with Guatemala is the Lacandon jungle, habitat of many species.

Some peculiar animal species that can be found in Chiapas are: the tepezcuintle, the howler monkey, the hawksbill turtle, the quetzal and the coyamel. There are also jaguars, one of the largest cats in the world.

2- Varied ecosystems

Its tropical location favors the existence of multiple ecosystems. Thus, in Chiapas it is easy to discover the contrast between the dense and wild jungles, and the cattle meadows.

As the topography of Chiapas is very rugged, the climate is also diverse. For this reason there are three climatic subregions, which determine the existence of one vegetation or another.

Some typical trees and plants of the region are cedar, oyamel, pochote and palo mulato.

3- Mining

In the state of Chiapas there are more than one million hectares dedicated to mining.

The territory is divided into seven mining poles or districts. The main metals obtained in these are: amber -the most common and characteristic of Chiapas-, limestone, quartz or gold.

Despite the extension of the mining areas, global production is much lower than in other regions.

4- Coffee and cocoa

Chiapas is the main Mexican coffee producer. It is the main source of wealth of a humble agriculture. Basically, the cultivated fields in Chiapas serve for self-sufficiency of the farmers.

Very primitive machinery and techniques are used, which reduces productivity. But coffee and cocoa are two typical products that thrive on the foreign market.

References

1. Chiapas on Nations Encyclopedia nationsencyclopedia.com
2. Coffee production in Chiapas on Coperaco at blog.coperacocoffee.com
3. Chiapas, forever indigenous. History of Mexico on University of Houston, at houstonculture.org
4. The Agriculture of Chiapas, Mexico. Sterling College at sterlingcollege.edu
5. Chiapas, Mexico. History Channel at history.com