page_title: Sumidero Canyon
section_title: Establishment of the park
hierarchical_section_title: Sumidero Canyon / National park / Establishment of the park
caption_attribution_description: English: Shrine inside the Cueva de los Colores in Sumidero Canyon — in the state of Chiapas, Southwestern Mexico.
context_page_description: Sumidero Canyon is a deep natural canyon located just north of the city of Chiapa de Corzo in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. The canyon's creation began around the same time as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. state of Arizona, by a crack in the area's crust and subsequent erosion by the Grijalva River, which still runs through it. Sumidero Canyon has vertical walls which reach as high as 1,000 metres, with the river turning up to 90 degrees during the 13-kilometre length of the narrow passage.
  The canyon is surrounded by the Sumidero Canyon National Park, a federally protected natural area of Mexico which extends for 21,789 hectares over four municipalities of the state of Chiapas. This park is administered by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas. Most of the vegetation in the park is low- to medium-height deciduous rainforest, with small areas of mixed pine-oak forest and grassland. At the north end of the canyon is the Chicoasén Dam and its artificial reservoir, one of several on the Grijalva River, which is important for water storage and the generation of hydroelectric power in the region.
context_section_description: The Sumidero Canyon National Park has its origins in a Chiapas state decree issued in 1972, which made the area around the canyon an ecological reserve to preserve its geology, history and wildlife and to allow for scientific study. For similar reasons, the park was taken over and enlarged to 21,789 hectares by the federal government in 1980. Most private landholders in the area were compensated for their lands, but not all resident persons or businesses were evicted. Since that time, the park has been under the administration of various agencies such as SAHOP, SEDUE and SEMARNAP, with the current managers being the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas and the Secretaría de Educación Pública. In 2004, the park came under the protection of the Ramsar Convention due to the importance of its ecology and water systems. It was also named a Región Prioritaria Terrestre and an Área de Importancia para la Conservación de las Aves by the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) in 2000. In 2005 and 2006, this agency enlarged the park again with the expropriation of lands in the municipalities of San Fernando and Tuxtla Gutiérrez, adding a total of 1,660 hectares (4,100 acres). It remains, however, smaller than most other national parks in Mexico.
  The center of the park is the Sumidero Canyon and the Grijalva River that runs from south to north through it. The park's borders on this river are marked by the Belisario Domínguez Bridge, over which the Pan-American Highway runs, in the south and the Chicoasén Dam, 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the north. The rest of the park's borders extend into the municipalities of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapa de Corzo, Osumacinta and San Fernando. This territory is mostly located in the Central Valley region of the state. The park is open 365 days a year. The park is divided into four sections by direction: the northwest includes medium-height, somewhat deciduous rainforest as well as some lowland rainforest and grassland, found in the municipalities of Osumacinta and San Fernando; the western section has similar vegetation, and is located entirely in San Fernando; the eastern section has forests of pine as well as medium-height semi-deciduous rainforest and grasslands, and is found in Chiapa de Corzo; and the southeast has most of the sides of the canyon itself and a navigable section of the Grijalva River, but only remnants of medium-height rainforest and pachycaulous vegetation. The main land access into the park is from Tuxtla Gutiérrez north through Osumacinta then past the Chicoasén Dam. Another access point is from Chiapa de Corzo by boat from the Cahuaré Docks. As the main attraction of the park is the canyon, several lookout points have been constructed on various parts of the rim. La Ceiba is closest to the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, only 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) away. The Los Chiapas point is near where the canyon's walls rise highest from the river below, where according to legend, a number of Chiapa people preferred to commit suicide by jumping rather than submit to Spanish domination. This lookout also has a restaurant.
caption: Inside the Cueva de Colores
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