MACI - Physical Geography Lesson
Physical Geography
Mexico is the eighth-largest country in the world and is about one-fifth the size of the United States. Bordered by the United States in the north, Mexico stretches south to Central America, where it is bordered by Guatemala and Belize.
One of Mexico's prominent geographical features is the Baja California Peninsula, which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez). At 775-mile-long, it is the world's longest peninsula.
Climate
Mexico is characterized by a great variety of climates. This is due to latitude, proximity to large bodies of water, elevation, and the rain shadow effect. The Tropic of Cancer cuts across Mexico, dividing the country into two different climatic zones. Above the Tropic of Cancer is a temperate zone which experiences distinct seasonal temperature changes. South of the Tropic of Cancer is a tropical zone which does not experience seasons and has consistent temperatures throughout the year.
Mexico has very pronounced wet and dry seasons. Most of the country receives rain between June and mid-October, with July being the wettest month. Much less rain occurs during the other months: February is usually the driest month. More importantly, Mexico's location causes it to lie in the middle of the hurricane belt, and all regions of both coasts are at risk for these storms between June and November. Hurricanes along the Pacific coast are much less frequent and less violent than those along Mexico's Gulf and Caribbean coasts. Hurricanes can cause extensive damage to infrastructure along the coasts where major tourist resorts are located.
Terrain
Although people often think of the coastal areas of Mexico, the country is quite mountainous. The Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental are extensions of U.S. mountain ranges that run roughly parallel to each other. The Sierra Madre Occidental, an extension of the Sierra Nevada range, runs about 3,107 miles along the west coast. The Sierra Madre Oriental is an extension of the Rocky Mountains which runs 808 miles along the country's eastern coast. Between these two mountain ranges lies a group of broad plateaus, including the Mexican Plateau, or Mexican Altiplano (a wide valley between mountain ranges). The central portions, with their rolling hills and broad valleys, include fertile farms and productive ranch land. The Mexican Altiplano is divided into northern and southern sections, with the northern section dominated by Mexico's most expansive desert, the Chihuahuan Desert.
Mexico is home to a range of volcanoes, some of which are active. Popocatépetl is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. Three tectonic plates underlie Mexico, making it one of the most seismically active regions on earth. In 1985, an earthquake centered off Mexico's Pacific coast killed more than ten thousand people in Mexico City and did significant damage to the city's infrastructure.
Mexico is rich in natural resources and has robust mining industries that tap large deposits of silver, copper, gold, lead, and zinc. Mexico also has a sizable supply of salt, fluorite, iron, manganese, sulfur, phosphate, tungsten, molybdenum, and gypsum. Natural gas and petroleum also make the list of Mexico's natural resources and are important export products to the United States. There has been some concern about declining petroleum resources; however, new reserves are being found offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Though a small percent of Mexico's land area is cultivated, favorable climatic conditions mean that food products are also an important natural resource both for export and for feeding the country's sizable population. Tomatoes, maize (corn), vanilla, avocado, beans, cotton, coffee, sugarcane, and fruit are harvested in sizable quantities. Of these, coffee, cotton, sugarcane, tomatoes, and fruit are primarily grown for export, with most products bound for the United States.
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