Acapulco - Geography and Climate

Geography and Climate

The city is located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Guerrero. It is classified as one of the state's seven regions, dividing the rest of the Guerrero coast into the Costa Grande and the Costa Chica. Forty percent of the municipality is mountainous terrain. Another forty percent is semi flat, and the other twenty percent is flat. Altitude varies from sea level to 1,699 metres (5,574 feet). The highest peaks are Potrero, San Nicolas and Alto Camarón. There is one major river, the Papagayo, which runs through the municipality, along with a number of arroyos. There are also two small lagoons, Tres Palos and Coyuca. along with a number of thermal springs.

Acapulco features a tropical wet and dry climate. The climate here is hot with distinct wet and dry seasons, more even temperatures between seasons than resorts further north in Mexico, but this varies depending on altitude. The warmest areas are next to the sea where the city is. Tropical Storms and Hurricanes are threat from May through November. The forested area tends to lose leaves during the winter dry season with evergreen pines in the highest elevations. Fauna mostly consists of deer, small mammals, a wide variety of birds of both land and sea as well as marine animals such as turtles.

The temperature of the sea is quite stable, with lows of 77 °F between januari-march, and a high of 84 °F in august.