Ixtenco (municipality)

Ixtenco Municipality
Municipality
Country	Mexico
State	Tlaxcala
Time zone	Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)

Ixtenco Municipality is a municipality in Tlaxcala in south-eastern Mexico.

The town of Ixtenco serves as the local government for the municipality of the same name, a territory of 43.532km2 which contains only one other community, called Miguel Muñoz León. The municipality borders the municipalities of Huamantla, and Trinidad Sández Santo, with the State of Puebla to the south and east. The municipal government consists of a municipal president, one syndic and seven representatives called regidors. The terrain sits on an old lava flow which determines the areas soil composition and underground water flows.

From its past, the municipality contains the ruins of two major haciendas, both constructed in the 18th century with stone walls up to a meter thick. The San Antonio Cuauhtla Hacienda still keeps largely intact its main house, tower, well, stables and other facilities but the San Cristóbal Haciendia is in ruins.

Geography and environment

The municipality is in the Mexican Plateau, almost entirely on the lower slopes of the La Malinche Volcano, with an average altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level. It is on an old solidified lava flow, which accounts for the area’s volcanic soil. About thirty percent of the territory is rugged, mostly in the west and center. The rest of the territory is semi flat, especially in the northwest and southeast. One notable geographic landmarks is Xalapasco, a small extinct volcano on the slopes of La Malinche, which contain nine craters. They are not well known but can be visited.

Most of the municipality has a temperate climate with a rainy season in the summer. Average annual temperature is 23.2C, varying between 1.2C and 25.7C. The average annual rainfall is between 8.l1mm and 119.2mm depending on the month. The average annual rainfall is 640.7mm.

There is no surface water except for streams that run during the rainy season and a fresh water spring on the side of the La Malinche Volcano. Potable water for the municipality comes from this spring and wells.

Only vestiges of forest survive with trees such as holm oaks (Quercus laeta, Quercus obtusata, Quercus crassipes), ocote chino (Pinus leiophylla) and white pine (Pinus pseudostrobus). Most of the area is inhabited or otherwise modified by human activity. In these area non-crop plants include willows ((Salix bonplandiana and Salix babylonica), ash (Fraxinus uhdei), poplar (Populus alba), tepozán (Buddleja cordata), capulín (Prunus serotina), tejocote (Crataegus mexicana), white zapote (Casimiroa edulis), white cedar (Cupressus benthamii) and pirul (Schinus molle). In urban areas there are also eucalyptus.

Little wildlife remains as well but includes coyotes, rabbits, hares, squirrels, opossums, skunks, birds such as quail, buzzards, woodpeckers, roadrunners and reptiles such as snakes and lizards.

Urbanization of the area has led to problems with garbage and water pollution, but the most serious issue is soil erosion due to the cutting of forests and overgrazing. There have been reforestation efforts, mostly pine species, but these have not been sufficient to stop further environmental damage from unchecked running water and wind coming down from La Malinche.