Maria Madre

Maria Madre
Satellite image of María Madre with neighboring island, supplemented by place names
Waters	Pacific Ocean
Archipelago	Islas Marías
Geographical location	21 ° 37 ′  N , 106 ° 35 ′  W Coordinates: 21 ° 37 ′  N , 106 ° 35 ′  W
length	20.8 km
width	11.4 km
surface	145.28 km²
Highest elevation	Punta Rocallosa 616  m
Residents	1116 (2005) 7.7 inhabitants / km²
main place	Puerto Balleto
Map of the Islas Marías

María Madre ( Spanish Isla María Madre ) is the largest and only inhabited island of the Mexican Islas Marías in the Pacific Ocean . Administratively it belongs to the municipality of San Blas in the state of Nayarit .

geography

María Madre is located about 70 km off the west coast of Mexico in the northwest of the Islas Marías. The island of San Juanito is located 5 km to the northwest, and Isla María Magdalena , the second largest island in the archipelago , is 4 km southeast of it . María Madre is almost 21 km long, up to 11.4 km wide and has an area of ​​145.28 km². It reaches a height of 616 m above sea level and has 1116 inhabitants, of which more than half (602 inhabitants) live in Puerto Balleto on the east coast.

Settlements

The following table lists all places on the island. The other islands in the group have no settlements.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

place	Population ( 2005 census )	Coordinates
Punta el Morro	-	21 ° 41 ′ 45 ″  N , 106 ° 39 ′ 19 ″  W.
Venustiano Carranza (Serradero, Aserradero)	-	21 ° 40 ′ 45 "  N , 106 ° 36 ′ 45"  W.
Campamento Cica (Bugambilias)	190	21 ° 40 ′ 15 "  N , 106 ° 37 ′ 45"  W.
Campamento Nayarit	51	21 ° 39 ′ 0 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 20 ″  W.
Campamento Rehilete	71	21 ° 38 '44 "  N , 106 ° 32' 29"  W.
Puerto Balleto (Isla María Madre)	602	21 ° 37 ′ 58 "  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 32"  W.
Zacatal	-	21 ° 37 ′ 44 "  N , 106 ° 35 ′ 26"  W.
Camarón	-	21 ° 37 ′ 26 "  N , 106 ° 37 ′ 55"  W.
Campamento Hospital (Veinte de Noviembre)	53	21 ° 37 ′ 34 "  N , 106 ° 31 ′ 55"  W.
Las Antenas	2	21 ° 37 ′ 15 ″  N , 106 ° 36 ′ 18 ″  W.
Campamento Morelos (José María Morelos)	98	21 ° 36 '4 "  N , 106 ° 30' 47"  W.
Campamento San Juan Papelillo	18th	21 ° 35 ′ 30 ″  N , 106 ° 36 ′ 26 ″  W.
Borbollón (Borbollones)	-	21 ° 34 ′ 15 ″  N , 106 ° 31 ′ 0 ″  W.
Campamento Laguna del Toro	31	21 ° 34 ′ 8 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 37 ″  W.
Punta Halcones	-	21 ° 32 ′ 45 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 30 ″  W.
Isla María Madre	1116	21 ° 36 ′ 57 "  N , 106 ° 34 ′ 42"  W.

Each settlement is characterized by a different economic activity. The main settlement is where the administration as well as most of the shopping and leisure activities are located. Puerto Balleto is divided into four districts ( jefaturas ):

1. Balleto, 21 ° 38 ′ 2 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 21 ″  W.
2. Bellavista, 21 ° 38 ′ 19 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 30 ″  W.
3. Unit Habitacional Miguel Hidalgo (UHMH), 21 ° 38 ′ 13 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 26 ″  W
4. Primero de Mayo, 21 ° 38 ′ 20 ″  N , 106 ° 32 ′ 23 ″  W.

history

The island was discovered for Europe in 1532 by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a cousin of Hernán Cortés , and named after Mary , the mother of Jesus of Nazareth . However, the island was not settled until the 19th century, before it served as a hideout for pirates . In 1905, a penal colony , the Colonia Penal Federal Islas Marías, was established on it, which was closed in 2003, but reopened in 2004 to relieve the overcrowded Mexican prisons.

Animal world (fauna)

María Madre is one of the two islands on which the Tres Marias raccoon ( Procyon lotor insularis ), a subspecies of the raccoon , is found , which is endemic to the Islas Marías . The also endemic Tres Marias deer mouse ( Peromyscus madrensis ) has been largely displaced by María Madre because of introduced rats . The Nelson rice rat has not been detected since 1897 and is considered extinct.

Web links

• Short portrait on Oceandots ( Memento from December 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Page of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish) 
2. ↑ Mexico by districts, Link Nayarit (Excel)
3. ↑ Article in jornada.mx (Spanish)