page_title: Teotihuacán Municipality
section_title: The municipality
hierarchical_section_title: Teotihuacán Municipality / The municipality
caption_attribution_description: English: Municipal palace of Teotihucan, Mexico State
context_page_description: Teotihuacán is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico. It is in the northeast of the Valley of Mexico, 45 km northeast of Mexico City and 119 km from the state capital of Toluca. Teotihuacan takes its name from the ancient city and World Heritage site that is located next to the municipal seat. "Teotihuacan" is from Nahuatl and means "place of the gods." In Nahua mythology the sun and the moon were created here. The seal of the municipality features the Pyramid of the Sun from the archeological site, which represents the four cardinal directions. The building is tied to a character that represents water which is linked to an arm that is joined to the head of an indigenous person who is seated and speaking. This person represents a god. Much of the history of the area has been tied to the ancient city, most recently involves controversy connected with commerce and development around the site.
context_section_description: As municipal seat, the town of San Juan Teotihuacán is the local governing authority for about 115 other named communities with a combined territory of 82.65km2. A little under half the municipality's population lives in the town proper.  The municipality borders the municipalities of Temascalapa, Acolman, Otumba de Gómez Farías, San Martín de las Pirámides and Tecámac.
  Most of the territory is flat, except for some large hills such as the Maninal and the Colorado. The most important rivers here are the San Juan and the San Lorenzo, both of which pass through the municipal seat. Another river is the San Sebastián Xolalpa, also known as the Barranquillas del Aguila. There are also a number of fresh water springs which provide drinking and irrigation water. The Parroquia spring is the source of the San Juan River. Channeling water from some of these sources is the San Agustín Actipan aqueduct. The climate is temperate and semi-arid with rains in the summer. Average year round temperature is 15.4 C with highs reaching up to the low 30sC. There can be frosts from October to March. Some areas of the municipality have small forests of cedar, pine, fir and other trees. In other area, dry climate vegetation such as cactus, maguey, grasses and other plants are prominent. Wildlife includes skunks, rabbits, moles, buzzards, hummingbirds, quail, rattlesnakes, frogs as well as a large number of other birds, reptiles and insects.
  Most of the municipality's land is dedicated to agriculture, with forests coming second at around fourteen percent. Most agriculture is seasonal and tied to the annual rainy season. Main crops include alfalfa, oats, barley, beans, corn, wheat and prickly pears. There are orchards that produce pears, apples, tejocotes, peaches, apricots, plums and other fruits. Most livestock consists of pigs or domestic fowl kept on family plots. Most of the forest areas are not economically valuable. Agriculture employs the majority (48%) of the municipality's population. Most crafts produced here are imitation pre-Hispanic pieces to sell to tourists.
  There is some industry here mostly the processing of agricultural products such as food, drinks, tobacco, wood and paper. There is some industry related to petroleum, other chemicals and metals. This sector employs about 20 percent of the population.
  Outside the town and Teotihuacan site there are some other tourist attractions. Reino Animal (Animal Kingdom) is a safari park located on the road to Tulancingo. Here the animals wander freely while visitors are confined to vehicles. There are also two spas/water parks called Cuauhtemoc and La Fuente. These parks contain swimming pools, slides, green areas and more.
caption: The municipal palace
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