Chontalpa

Although the name refers to the state's Chontal Maya population, modern Chontalpa is a subregion of the Grijalva Region, with boundaries defined by economic concerns.

A large percentage of the state's Chontal Maya population does live in the region, with the municipality of Nacajuca having the largest concentration of Chontal Maya indigenous individuals, while the next largest concentration is found just east of the region, in the Villahermosa area.

[2] Like the rest of Tabasco, the Chontalpa region is mostly a flat floodplain with a small area of highlands along the border with Chiapas.

It is subjects to numerous storms and even hurricanes coming in from the Gulf of Mexico with an average annual rainfall of about 2000 mm.

tree (Thalia geniculata), kapoks (Ceiba petandra), palo mulato (Bursera simaruba), zapote (Pachira aquatic), maculis (Tebebuia rosea) and royal palm (Royestonea regia) .

[9] Most of the deforestation of the region has occurred as a result of the Chontalpa Plan, which began in the 1960s to drain areas of wetlands to convert them into farm and pasture land.

[10] Wildlife has been seriously harmed by the activities of man but still include iguanas and other lizards, various species of birds and other reptiles such as freshwater turtles although a number of these are in danger of extinction.

[4] The Villa Luz Ecological Reserve extends over forty hectares, with eighty percent covered in dense vegetation and in all there are various streams both fresh water and sulfur laced liquid which rise from springs in the earth.

[4] The La Chontalpa Ecological Reserve is a state protected area on the Colegio de Postgraduado-Campus Tabasco campus founded in 1995 with 277 hectares.

It is one of the last remains of the medium growth evergreen rainforest of Tabasco dominated by a tree called "canacoite" (Bravaisia integerrima).

Other plants include cachimbo (Platymiscium yucatanum), tinco (Vatairea lundelii) and zapote prieto (Diospyros digyna).

[3] Over seventy percent of the state's Chontal Maya population is divided between the municipalities of Nacajuaca which is in the region and Centro (Villahermosa), which is just outside it.

[3] Relatively little is known about the Chontal Maya culture and daily life in comparison to other indigenous groups in Mexico.

However, the Chontal Maya language perseveres with increases in the number of native speakers in the past decades.

[3] Cultivated crops include cacao, coconut, bananas, sugar cane, pineapple, citrus fruits, corn and beans.

[2] The economic boom due to oil has made the cities of Cárdenas and Comalcalco the second and third most important in the state.

[4] In the area which is now Chontalpa, various ethnicities such as the Chontal Maya, Zoques and Nahuas inhabited before the arrival of the Spanish.

The indigenous population diminished greatly and almost disappeared with estimates of the loss as high as ninety percent due to disease and abuse at the hands of the Spanish.

Large scale drilling began in the 1970s for foreign income, controlled by the state oil company PEMEX.

[3][5] Environmental damage since this time has affected fishing, agriculture and livestock, leading to tensions between the local population and PEMEX, including legal actions, protests and event the blocking of oil facilities.

[12] Another major factor in the economic development and environmental degradation of the region was the implementation of the Chontalpa Plan.

This was a plan introduced by the federal government to develop the hydroelectric potential of the area's rivers, and convert wetlands into those suitable for agricultural production.

One of the goals of this project was to alleviate the poverty of the region due to lack of economic development, especially in rural areas.

[13] Chontalpa is home to the two most important archeological sites in the state, La Venta and Comalcalco, which represent the Olmec and Maya civilizations respectively.

The site shows a number of the characteristics of Olmec culture, including depictions of jaguars, colossal heads and images of figures of rotund children.

It contain thirty three major pieces from the site and includes displays about Olmec customs, government, astronomy and writing.