Tonallan Coast

The coast near Tonalá forms the eastern shore of the Gulf of Tehuantepec, where a low plain separates the Pacific from the mountains of Chiapas. Long beaches and lagoons lie along this exposed margin. The gulf is known for powerful northerly winds that descend through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and spread out over the sea. Inland at Tonalá, insurgent forces fought royalist troops in 1813 during the Mexican War of Independence.