Chimalapa Jungle

The Chimalapa Jungle occupies rugged tropical country on the southern edge of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the lowlands rise into broken mountains and the forest covers steep ridges and deep river gorges. Rainfall and temperature change sharply over short distances, giving the Zoque communities of the region many niches for maize, cacao, fruit and forest products. The Zoque kept settlements in the valleys and travelled through the forest along rivers and footpaths. Spanish expeditions of the 1520s and 1530s found the forest difficult to cross, and the rough terrain kept Spanish settlers and mines out of much of the interior.