People and Towns
Culturally and geographically, the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca can be split into many smaller sierras, each with unique environments and human inhabitants. In the northwest of Oaxaca State lies the Sierra Mazateca, whose elevation scarcely exceeds 2,600 meters. Homeland of the Mazatec people, it contains the important towns Huautla de Jiménez, Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, and Jalapa de Díaz. Its most unique peak, albeit not its highest, is Cerro Rabon, the whale shaped Holy Mountain of the Mazatecs. South of the Sierra Mazateca lies the Sierra de Cuicatlan, a range which divides the low canyon lands of Cuicatlan from the Sierra Juarez to the west and is home to the Cuicatec people. The Sierra Juárez is the land of the Sierra Zapotecs and birthplace of Mexico's only indigenous president, Benito Juárez. The main towns of the Sierra Juarez are Ixtlan de Juárez, San Ildefonso Villa Alta, and Villa Hidalgo Yalalag. North of the Sierra Juárez lies the Sierra Chinanteca, home to Chinantec towns such as Santiago Comaltepec, San Pedro Yolóx And San Felipe Usila. Finally to the east, as the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca descends towards the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, lies the Sierra Mixe, home to the Mixe people, descendants of the Ancient Olmecs of Mexico's Gulf Coast. The major Mixe centers are San Pablo & San Pedro Ayutla, Santiago Zacatepec, and Santa María Totontepec, and the major peak of the area is Zempoateptl, the sacred mountain of the Mixe people.
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