Country Mexico Established 13 March 2008 Demonym(s) Tulumense Elevation 10 m | State Quintana Roo Municipal seat Tulum Area 2,041 km² Capital Tulum | |
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Time zone Central Standard Time (UTC-6) Points of interest Coba, Tulum, Xelha, Sian Ka'an, Yal‑ku Destinations Tulum, Akumal, Sian Ka'an, Aktun Chen, Punta Allen | ||
Tulum is one of the ten municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It became one of the newest municipalities in the country when it was formed on March 13, 2008, when it was separated from Solidaridad Municipality.
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Map of Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Tulum is home to the Maya archaeological sites of Tulum and Cobá.
Geography
The municipality of Tulum borders the municipalities of Solidaridad to the north and Felipe Carrillo Puerto to the south, in the state of Quintana Roo. It also borders Chemax Municipality and Valladolid Municipality in the state of Yucatán on the northwest, and the Caribbean Sea on the east.
Orography and hydrography
Like most of the Yucatan Peninsula Tulum is entirely flat with a gentle slope towards the sea, so from west to east, the area never reaches a higher altitude than 25 metres (82 ft) above sea level. The municipality is 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level on average.
Like the rest of the peninsula's surface the land has a limestone base that does not allow the formation of surface water flows such as rivers and streams; the water instead flows in underground rivers that sometimes rise to the surface in the cenotes. Lakes and cenotes are the major bodies of water in the municipality.
Communities
The municipality consists of 170 populated localities, plus an additional 224 unpopulated localities, and includes part of a biosphere reserve (Sian Ka'an, which lies mostly in neighboring Felipe Carrillo Puerto Municipality). The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:
Demographics
Tulum has 28,263 inhabitants according to the 2010 census, a figure that has more than doubled in the last five years. There is an additional 15,000 to 20,000 people living and working in Tulum as part of its floating population. That number rises and falls with the tourist season and is not reflected in the census figures.