Cozumel (; ) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The municipality is part of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
In 2023, Cozumel was designated a Pueblo Mágico by the Mexican government, recognizing its cultural and historical importance.
Etymology The name Cozumel was derived from the Mayan "Cuzamil" (also spelled "Cutzmil") or "Ah Cuzamil Peten" in full, which means "the island of swallows" ().
History Prehispanic period More than 30 archaeological sites have been identified on Cozumel, with evidence of occupation extending from the Late Preclassic period, about 300 BCE to 300 CE, until the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century. The sites range from large inland settlements to isolated coastal altars, some of which have been destroyed by modern construction.
Cozumel flourished from about 1250 CE onward as an important port and pilgrimage centre, which encouraged the development of local honey and wax industries. It formed part of a maritime trade route that followed the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula from present-day Honduras to Tabasco and Campeche. Merchants and pilgrims travelled to the island, where they worshipped Ixchel, a Maya goddess associated with the moon, childbirth and weaving. There was likely a settlement of Chontal Maya traders from the present-day area of Tabasco or the Laguna de Términos.Henderson, John S. “The Valley de Naco: Ethnohistory and Archaeology in Northwestern Honduras.” Ethnohistory, vol. 24, no. 4, 1977, pg. 369. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/481388. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.
San Gervasio was the most important city on Cozumel and participated in the trade network linking settlements across the Yucatán Peninsula. The settlement had a long period of occupation and consisted of several architectural groups connected by an extensive network of raised roads known as sacbés. It is dated principally to the Late Postclassic period, about 1250 to 1550 CE.
European contact The first Spanish expedition to visit Cozumel was led by Juan de Grijalva in 1518.Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, In the following year, Hernán Cortés stopped by the island on his way to Veracruz. The Grijalva and Cortés expeditions were both received peacefully by the Maya of Cozumel (unlike their experiences on the mainland). Even after Cortés destroyed some of the Maya idols on Cozumel and replaced them with an image of the Virgin Mary, the native inhabitants of the island continued to help the Spanish re-supply their ships with food and water so they could continue their voyages. Gerónimo de Aguilar, a captive of the Mayans, was rescued at this time.
As many as 10,000 Maya lived on the island during the early 1500s, but in 1520, infected crew members of the Pánfilo de Narváez expedition brought smallpox to the island, and by 1570, only 186 men and 172 women were left alive on Cozumel. In the ensuing years, Cozumel was often the target of attacks by pirates, and in 1650, many of the islanders were forcibly relocated to the mainland town of Xcan Boloná to avoid the buccaneers' predation. Later, in 1688, most of the rest of the island's population, as well as many of the settlements along the Quintana Roo coast, were evacuated inland to towns such as Chemax.
In 1848, refugees escaping the tumult of the Caste War of Yucatán settled on the island, and in 1849 the town of San Miguel de Cozumel was officially recognized by the Mexican government.Hajovsky, Ric The Yellow Guide to the Mayan Ruins of San Gervasio, Cozumel, Amazon Books, 2012, pp. 8–10
Proposed American acquisition In 1861, American President Abraham Lincoln ordered his Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, to meet with the Mexican chargé d'affaires Matias Romero to explore the possibility of purchasing the island of Cozumel for the purpose of relocating freed American slaves offshore. The idea was summarily dismissed by Mexican President Benito Juarez, and Juarez is still revered by the people of Cozumel because of this action. In 1862, Lincoln did manage to establish a short-lived colony of ex-slaves on Île à Vache off the coast of Haiti.
Hurricanes Cozumel lies in the western Caribbean, within the path of Atlantic hurricanes during the June-to-November hurricane season.
On September 16, 1967, Hurricane Beulah made landfall on Cozumel with maximum winds of about . About 40 percent of the island's houses were destroyed, several hotels were severely damaged, and tourism was heavily affected.
Twenty-one years later, on September 14, 1988, Hurricane Gilbert passed directly over Cozumel before crossing the Yucatán Peninsula.
Cozumel was struck by two Category 4 hurricanes in 2005. On July 18, the eyewall of Hurricane Emily passed over the island before the storm crossed the Yucatán Peninsula. Emily brought winds of about to the region and extensively defoliated Cozumel's forests.
About three months later, on October 21, Hurricane Wilma crossed northeastern Cozumel with sustained winds of about . The hurricane moved at only about : its centre was about east-southeast of Cozumel at 1 p.m. and crossed the island during the afternoon.
Wilma's centre remained near Cozumel's northern end at 7 p.m., several hours after reaching the island. Studies of the island's reefs found that Emily and Wilma together reduced live coral cover by 56 percent, with Wilma causing substantially greater damage.
Hurricanes have continued to affect the island. Hurricane Delta brought hurricane-force wind gusts to Cozumel in October 2020. Hurricane Grace passed just south of Cozumel in August 2021. In July 2024, Cozumel was placed under a hurricane warning as Hurricane Beryl approached the Yucatán Peninsula.
Development of air transportation Work on the original Cozumel airport began when the US needed a stopover to aid World War II planes. While it was able to handle jet aircraft and international flights, it was never a US military base. By 1944, it was only used for emergencies and by the Mexican military. Eventually, Transportes Aeros Mexicanos began using the airport for domestic flights. Cozumel International Airport was built in the late 1970s and expanded in 1999.
Geography
Physical geography The island is located in the Caribbean Sea along the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula about south of Cancún and from the mainland. The island is about long and wide, with a total area of . It is Mexico's largest Caribbean island, largest permanently inhabited island, and Mexico's third-largest island, following Tiburón Island and Isla Ángel de la Guarda. The population of Cozumel is 88,626 (2020 census). The majority of the island's population lives in the town of San Miguel, which has a population of 84,915 (2020 census).
Cozumel is a municipality which also includes two small areas on the mainland, the ecotourism park of Xel-Ha and the Calica limestone quarry. All combined, Cozumel has a total land area of .
Large parts of the island are covered with mangrove forest which has many endemic animal species. Cozumel is a flat island based on limestone, resulting in a karst topography. The highest natural point on the island is less than above sea level. The cenotes are water-filled sinkholes formed by water percolating through the soft limestone soil for thousands of years. Eighteen deep cenotes and more than 250 shallow bodies exist on the island. Many are under dense vegetation. Jade Cavern Cozumel (Cenote Chempita) near El Cedral is often visited by tourists.
Climate Cozumel has a tropical savanna climate under the Köppen climate classification that closely borders on a tropical monsoon climate. The dry season is short, from February to April, but even in these months precipitation averages about of rain per month. The wet season is lengthy, covering most of the months, with September and October being the wettest, when precipitation averages over . Thunderstorms can occasionally occur during the wet season. Temperatures tend to remain stable with little variation from month to month, though the temperatures are cooler from December to February. The coolest month, January, averages . Owing to its proximity to the sea, the island is fairly humid, with an average humidity of 83%. The wettest recorded month was October 1980, with of precipitation and the wettest recorded day was June 19, 1975, with . Extremes range from —recorded January 18, 1977—to .
Environment
Fauna
Cozumel is home to several endemic birds, including the Cozumel emerald, Cozumel great curassow, Cozumel thrasher, Cozumel vireo and Cozumel wren. The Cozumel great curassow is vulnerable, while the Cozumel thrasher is considered nearly, if not already, extinct.
Endemic mammals exhibiting insular dwarfism include the Cozumel fox, which is considered nearly, if not already, extinct; the Cozumel Island coati, which is endangered; and the Cozumel Island raccoon, which is critically endangered.K. McFadden, D. Vasco, A. Cuaron, D. Valenzuela and M. Gompper. 2009. Conservation and population assessment of the endangered dwarf carnivores from Cozumel Island. Biodiversity and Conservation 13:317–331
Three rodents found on Cozumel are larger than their mainland counterparts, an example of island gigantism: Oryzomys couesi, Peromyscus leucopus and Reithrodontomys spectabilis. R. spectabilis is also endemic to Cozumel and is critically endangered.
Other native wildlife includes the Cozumel crocodile, black spiny-tailed iguana and blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi). The Cozumel crocodile was initially thought to be a population of the American crocodile, but is now believed to be a separate species. The splendid toadfish is endemic to the waters around Cozumel.
Introduced species
The boa constrictor is an invasive species on Cozumel.
Coral reefs
Reef system Cozumel is surrounded by a diverse ecosystem of coral reefs that is home to more than 1,000 marine species. The reefs are primarily found on underwater cliffs; some exist in coastal lagoons and on sand bars at the north tip of the island. These reefs are part of the much larger Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is the second largest reef in the world, stretching over 1,000 kilometers (620 mi).
The reefs in Cozumel are made up of hard coral and soft coral. The marine life that inhabit the reefs include zoanthids, polychaetes, actinarians, hydroids, sponges, crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, and many varieties of Caribbean fish. The park is also a habitat to several endangered marine species such as the loggerhead sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, queen triggerfish, and the endemic splendid toadfish.
Threats Cozumel's deeper coral reefs were historically famed for their black corals, yet black coral populations declined from the 1960s to the mid-1990s because of overharvesting and by 2016 had not recovered.
Despite the importance of healthy reefs to Cozumel's tourist trade, a deepwater pier was built in the 1990s for cruise ships to dock, causing damage to the reefs, and it is now a regular stop on cruises in the Caribbean. Over the past few decades, coral reef health has significantly declined in Cozumel, with much lower coral cover now present than was historically recorded.
In 2025, there were plans to build a 4th pier, however this was met with fierce backlash from the local community to prevent further damage to the reefs.
Conservation These coral reefs are protected from the open ocean by the island's natural geography. In 1996, the government of Mexico also established the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, forbidding anyone from touching or removing any marine life within the park boundaries.