QUINTANA ROO

state, Yucatn Peninsula, southeastern Mexico. Situated on the eastern side of the peninsula, it is bounded by the Caribbean Sea (east), by Belize (south), and by Campeche and Yucatn (west); its northern shore is on the Yucatn Channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Quintana Roo, with an area of 19,397 sq mi (50,212 sq km), is a hot, humid, and heavily forested limestone plain. The area was named for Andrs Quintana Roo, writer and leader in the independence movement (181021). In 1517 the first Spanish landing in Mexico was made at Cape Catoche, and in 1519 Hernn Corts landed first on the offshore island of Cozumel. The region was for many years used as a place of exile for political prisoners. It was created as a territory in 1902 from parts of Yucatn and Campeche states and was made a state in 1974. The population, except for the concentrations in Chetumal, the state capital, and a few towns, is dispersed in hamlets and villages. Most inhabitants are descendants of Maya Indians who rebelled in 1847 in Yucatn and were driven into Quintana Roo. The state contains important archaeological remains of the pre-Columbian Mayan Empire. Chicle and a small amount of copra, produced on the coast near Cozumel Island, are the state's main products. Valuable stands of mahogany and other hardwoods are largely unexploited, but sponge and turtle fishing are significant along the coast. The construction of highways, railroads, and airstrips has eased Quintana Roo's isolation. Pop. (1980) 226,000.