Yucatán

American  

[yoo-kuh-tan, yoo-kah-tahn] / ˌyu kəˈtæn, ˌyu kɑˈtɑn /

Also Yucatan

noun

1. a peninsula in SE Mexico and N Central America comprising parts of SE Mexico, N Guatemala, and Belize.

2. a state in SE Mexico, in N Yucatán Peninsula. 14,868 sq. mi. (38,510 sq. km). Mérida.

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Yucatán British  

/ jukaˈtan, ˌjuːkəˈtɑːn /

noun

1. a state of SE Mexico, occupying the N part of the Yucatán peninsula. Capital: Mérida. Pop: 1 655 707 (2000). Area: 39 340 sq km (15 186 sq miles)

2. a peninsula of Central America between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including the Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, and part of Belize: a centre of Mayan civilization from about 100 _bc to the 18th century. Area: about 181 300 sq km (70 000 sq miles)

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Yucatán Cultural  

1. Peninsula mostly in southeastern Mexico, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico.

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Discover More

It is the location of many Mayan ruins.

Example Sentences

Large asteroid impacts, like the one that contributed to the dinosaur extinction 65 million years ago, typically leave a clear crater, such as the one beneath the Yucatan Peninsula.

From Science Daily

This stands in contrast to famous sites like the Chicxulub crater near Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, which is directly linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

From Science Daily

Sixty-six million years ago, give or take a few centuries, an asteroid about the size of Manhattan Island slammed into Earth near what we now call the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

From Literature

About 66 million years ago, scientists believe, a city-size asteroid crashed into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, precipitating a series of worldwide catastrophes: a massive earthquake, landslides, wildfires, tsunamis and temperatures reaching 700 degrees Fahrenheit.

From The Wall Street Journal

The parasitic fly has been found recently in seven Mexican states: Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, and Yucatán.

From Los Angeles Times