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Cancún Facts & Worksheets

Cancún is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

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Cancún is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito Juárez. The city is on the Caribbean Sea and is one of Mexico’s easternmost points.

See the fact file below for more information on the Cancún or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Cancún worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

DESCRIPTION

  • Ciudad Cancún (Cancún city) is located on the northeastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, facing the Caribbean Sea.
  • It is essentially a service town for the L-shaped resort area of Isla Cancún (Cancún Island), which is 13 miles (21 km) long by 0.25 mile (400 meters) wide.
  • The Cancún Island resort area (also called the Zona Hotelera [Hotel Zone]) is linked by a causeway to Cancún city.
  • The island, with its skyscraper hotels and sprawling resorts, and the coastal area occupied by Cancún city, have abundant white sand beaches, palm groves, and coral reefs. The warm, tropical climate has a short rainy season.

HISTORY

  • Half a century ago, nobody knew about the existence of a hidden paradise of crystal waters and pristine beaches along the coast of Quintana Roo Mexico.
  • This heavenly place of white sand beaches and palm trees was touched by the Caribbean Sea.
  • This beautiful paradise existed as a result of thousands of years of nature’s creation of coral reefs. When these coral reefs were grown, they sheltered multicolor sea species and various forms of life, one of which is very special for Cancun and called “parrot fish” or Cetoscarus bicolor.
  • This type of fish survive by biting and chewing the coral, looking for nutrients found in the coral itself. After this, they spit the remnants as tiny pieces of white coral which creates the most beautiful white sand in the world.
  • In 1968, Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz ordered that the Bank of Mexico create a National Tourism Plan. This plan needed to be strong enough to guarantee the payment of credits already given by external loans and provide investment opportunities for the private sector. He also wanted to create enough employment to build self-sufficient tourism industry cities and achieve technological autonomy in services.
  • Under this premise, the Bank of Mexico created INFRATUR, a government agency in charge of the consolidation of the President’s order.
  • INFRATUR traveled around the country looking for the best spot to build a resort area and the Cancun Project was officially approved in 1969, when a computer decided that this beautiful strip of sand was ideal for a planned resort town.
  • The well-behaved weather and the island’s proximity to North America ensured its success. The computer was right, and Mexico’s number-one tourist destination was born.

THE MASTER PLAN

  • The Cancún Project was officially approved in 1969, but didn’t begin until January 1970, when the first INFRATUR technicians arrived.
  • The initial objectives of the project were to open up a road from Puerto Juarez to the island, design a master development plan and build a provisional air strip (located in the area designated for city development, on the site of present-day Kabah Avenue, in front of the Ecological Park).
  • The basic master plan made three demands:
    • To build a tourism zone with no permanent residential areas, like a tourism corridor (given the characteristics of the land itself), with hotel installations, shopping centers, golf courses and marinas.
    • To build a residential zone for permanent residents: in other words, an integral city in the northern part of the territorial reserve, with residential and commercial areas, roads, public buildings, schools, hospitals and markets.
    • To build an international airport to one side of the Cancún-Tulum highway (under construction at the time), on the mainland south of the island.

TOURIST ATTRACTION

  • The prime tourist area is linked by a causeway to the mainland on which the modern city of Cancún itself stands. It has a vibrant hub with a number of interesting attractions worth visiting.
  • Among the most popular beaches are de las Perlas, Juventud, Linda, Langosta, Tortugas, Caracol, and Chac-mool. Some lie alongside the Boulevard Cancún and the Paseo Kukulkán, all the way from the city boundary (of these, Tortugas, Caracol, and Chac-mool tend to be the busiest).
  • Located in Cancún Center is the city’s large convention complex, the Maya Museum (Museo Maya de Cancún). This attraction is certainly worth visiting to learn more about the region’s rich history. It is the largest museum project since the opening of the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City in 1987. This superb attraction does a good job of explaining the ancient roots of the region’s Mayan culture, from its founding centuries ago right up to the modern day.
  • Another interesting Mayan site that is easily accessible from Cancún’s main resort area is the El Meco Archaeological Site.
  • Originally inhabited from around AD 300, it rose to prominence as a Mayan trade center from the 1100s until its decline after the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century.

Cancún Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Cancún across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Cancún worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Cancún which is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito Juárez. The city is on the Caribbean Sea and is one of Mexico’s easternmost points.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Cancún Facts
  • Hot Facts
  • Historical Timeline
  • Dream City
  • Complete Me
  • True or False?
  • Pic on a Pin
  • Cancún Puzzle
  • Cancún Word
  • Cancún Checklist
  • Breaking News

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Link will appear as Cancún Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 4, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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