The municipality of Calakmul is located in the southern of Campeche State, bordered on the north by the municipality of Hopelchén, on the south by Guatemala and Belize, on the east by the State of Quintana Roo and on the west by the municipalities of Escarcega and Candelaria.
Due to the excessive extraction of “Chicle” (natural gum) that began to be reflected in the Chenes region, The Chicle extraction industry began to move to the woods south of the center establishing camps in what is now the capital of Calakmul, Xpuhil.
By presidential decree, in the sixties were created the ejidos Nuevo Bécal, 20 de Noviembre, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz y Álvaro Obregón (Zoh Laguna), among others. This was the first major migration process, after the loggers and chicle extraction workers.
In the eighties, the problems of land in Chiapas, Veracruz and Puebla, led to the massive influx of Indians and peasants in southern Campeche, so you can say that only a few inhabitants of this region are natives from Campeche, due to large influx of people from other states in Mexico.
On December 31 1996 is created the municipality of Calakmul.
Nowadays Calakmul Biosphere is of great importance for the country, because it is one of the most important large felines habitat in Mexico, which houses species like the jaguar, ocelot, and tiger cat, as well as species like jarabundi, the howler monkey, more than five species of parrots, anteaters, iguanas and reptiles like snakes, and rare animals such as the brocket and curassow. It also contains the largest concentration of Mayan archaeological sites: Calakmul, Chicana, Becán, Xpujil, Altamira, Hormiguero, Rio Bec, etc. Besides that, the vegetation is lush: high, medium and low rain forest, hydrophilic vegetation from swampy grounds. Without doubt a place rich in culture and natural resources.
There are no important elevations, the maximum height above sea level are the Champerico hills with 390 meters above sea level and the minimum varies from 100-150 meters. The region is crossed by a chain of small hills which are called “Zoh-Laguna lower plateau”. The highest peaks are El Gavilan with 210 meters. El Doce with 250 meters, El Ramonal with 340m. and los Chinos with 370m.
