Mexico Geography:
Location:
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Geographic coordinates:
23 00 N, 102 00 W
Map references:
Area:
total:
1,972,550 sq km
land:
1,923,040 sq km
water:
49,510 sq km
Area - comparative:
Slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3141 km
Coastline:
9,330 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate:
Varies from tropical to desert
Terrain:
High, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural resources:
Petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Land use:
arable land: 12.99%
permanent crops: 1.31%
other: 85.7%
(2001)
Irrigated land:
65,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts
Environment - current issues:
Scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: The government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements (not ratified)
Geography - Note:
Strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
