Laguna de Tamiahua

The Tamiahua lagoon runs along almost the whole northern coast of Veracruz, from just south of Tampico down to the Corazones inlet, some 85 km of shallow brackish water. It is the third-largest coastal lagoon in Mexico, and since 27 November 2005 it has been Ramsar site number 1596, with 88,000 hectares listed as a wetland of international importance. Its shores are shared by five municipalities: Tampico Alto, Ozuluama, Tamalín, Tamiahua and Tuxpan.

A long, curving sand barrier separates it from the Gulf of Mexico. Its most prominent point is Cabo Rojo, about 55 km south of Tampico, a ridge of quartz sand so distinct on the coastline that forecasters use it as a reference point in tropical storm warnings. To the south the barrier widens into Juan A. Ramírez island, long and narrow from north to south. Inside the main body of water lie Isla del Toro, slim and shaped like an open pair of compasses with two islets nearby, and the triangular Isla El Ídolo, almost as big as Juan A. Ramírez; Isla de Pájaros can be walked for birdwatching. Offshore from Cabo Rojo are the reefs of Isla Lobos, Medio and Blanquilla.

Half the shoreline is mangrove; the Ramsar sheet calls it the largest and best-developed mangrove forest north of the Papaloapan River. About 120 fish species have been recorded in the lagoon, and it is habitat for sea turtles, the lined seahorse and the Tamesí molly, a critically endangered fish. The threats are mangrove clearing, overfishing and pollution. Fishing keeps the shore villages going: shrimp, blue crab, clams and oysters. At night fishermen lure shrimp with lights, and by day you see the stakes of fish traps poking out of the water from the boats. The climate is hot and humid, averaging about 22 °C with more than 1,000 mm of rain a year.

For visitors, the lagoon is something to see by boat. The main port is Tamiahua at the southern end, where trips leave for the islands, the channels of the Barra de Corazones and, out at sea, Isla Lobos.