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Puerto Morelos
Puerto Morelos plaza
Puerto Morelos plaza
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Country Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico
State  Quintana Roo
Municipality Puerto Morelos
Named for José María Morelos
Elevation
4 m (13 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 19,202
Demonym(s) Puertomorelense
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time)
Postal Code
77580
Area code(s) 998

Puerto Morelos (Spanish pronunciation: ['pweɾto mo'ɾelos]) is a municipality, town, and seaport in Quintana Roo, Mexico's easternmost state, on the Yucatán Peninsula. The town is located in the northeast of the state, about 36 km (22 mi) south of the resort city of Cancún, and about 30 km (19 mi) north of the city of Playa del Carmen.

Puerto Morelos merged with the village of Leona Vicario on December 6, 2015, to become the 11th municipality in Quintana Roo, separating from its former municipality of Benito Juarez.

History

It has historically been the main port between the mainland of Yucatán and the Island of Cozumel, and an automobile ferry used to run from Puerto Morelos to Cozumel. The town is named after Independence leader José María Morelos.

Resorts are abundant in the Puerto Morelos region along the Riviera Maya and attractions, such as the Crococun Crocodile Zoo, the Botanical Garden, and a host of cenotes are also increasing in number. Recently new smaller inns have been built which offers an evening programs of Talks on local history, marine biology, and healthy living practices.

One hundred meters off shore lies the Puerto Morelos portion of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, designated as a National Marine Park in 1998 due to local environmental activists.

Geography

Puerto Morelos is divided by a highway and a mangrove swamp into three sections. The section west of the highway is known as "Colonia Joaquin Zetina Gazca". The section east of the highway is called "Colonia Pescadores". The section on the coast east of the mangrove swamp is "Puerto" or "Antiguo (old) Puerto Morelos". This original coastal fishing village is now a quiet, mixed-use neighborhood of private homes, hotels, condominiums, restaurants, and tourist shops.

The second part is about 2 km. inland and adjacent to Highway 307, on the western side. The inland portion is mainly single level dwellings for local workers. New residential developments have sprung up in recent years adding to the housing mix. There are now multi-story apartment buildings, and private residential developments between the highway and the mangrove where one can buy lots and build a house of one's own design.

Climate

Classified by Köppen-Geiger system as tropical wet and dry climate (Aw), because its driest month has less than 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of precipitation and also less than 100 − (total annual precipitation [mm]/25), also because each month has a mean average above 18 °C (64 °F).

Climate data for Puerto Morelos (1951–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.5
(94.1)
36.5
(97.7)
38.0
(100.4)
39.5
(103.1)
41.5
(106.7)
40.5
(104.9)
39.0
(102.2)
41.0
(105.8)
41.0
(105.8)
39.0
(102.2)
38.0
(100.4)
35.0
(95.0)
41.5
(106.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 28.2
(82.8)
28.6
(83.5)
29.7
(85.5)
31.2
(88.2)
32.3
(90.1)
32.4
(90.3)
33.0
(91.4)
33.3
(91.9)
32.3
(90.1)
31.2
(88.2)
29.7
(85.5)
28.4
(83.1)
30.9
(87.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9)
23.4
(74.1)
24.8
(76.6)
26.7
(80.1)
27.8
(82.0)
28.1
(82.6)
28.4
(83.1)
28.3
(82.9)
27.8
(82.0)
26.6
(79.9)
25.0
(77.0)
23.7
(74.7)
26.2
(79.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1)
18.2
(64.8)
20.0
(68.0)
22.2
(72.0)
23.3
(73.9)
23.7
(74.7)
23.8
(74.8)
23.3
(73.9)
23.3
(73.9)
21.9
(71.4)
20.4
(68.7)
19.0
(66.2)
21.5
(70.7)
Record low °C (°F) 5.0
(41.0)
6.0
(42.8)
8.0
(46.4)
9.0
(48.2)
12.0
(53.6)
12.0
(53.6)
17.0
(62.6)
12.0
(53.6)
17.0
(62.6)
12.0
(53.6)
10.0
(50.0)
9.0
(48.2)
5.0
(41.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 78.6
(3.09)
45.2
(1.78)
42.3
(1.67)
54.0
(2.13)
102.0
(4.02)
138.3
(5.44)
90.3
(3.56)
126.7
(4.99)
187.1
(7.37)
184.0
(7.24)
98.8
(3.89)
74.7
(2.94)
1,222
(48.11)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) 6.4 3.9 3.1 3.2 5.4 8.9 7.8 9.8 12.9 11.8 8.7 7.0 88.9
Source: Servicio Meteorologico Nacional

Demographics

Puerto Morelos has grown rapidly with the development of tourism and as of the 2010 census is the home to 9,188 people.

Population of Puerto Morelos
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1980 672 —    
1990 740 +0.97%
1995 829 +2.30%
2000 892 +1.48%
2005 1,097 +4.22%
2010 9,188 +52.97%

Infrastructure

Muelle de Puerto Morelos
Puerto Morelos Marine Terminal in the background
Logo Tren Maya horizontal with slogan

The marine terminal at Puerto Morelos is equipped to handle containers and is an important seaport in the state of Quintana Roo. The volume of cargo handled in the port of Puerto Morelos amounted to 41.2 thousand metric tons in 2019.

In addition, there is a Tren Maya station that opened to the public on 15 March 2024 just outside Puerto Morelos.


Preceding station Logo Tren Maya horizontal with slogan.svg Tren Maya Following station
Playa del Carmen
toward Felipe Carrillo Puerto
Tren Maya Cancún Airport
Terminus

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Puerto Morelos para niños

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Puerto Morelos Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.