| Geography | Mexico |
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Location:
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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:
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23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Map references:
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North America |
Area:
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total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km
water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Land boundaries:
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total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Coastline:
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9,330 km |
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Climate:
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varies from tropical to desert |
Terrain:
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high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Natural resources:
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petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Land use:
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arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28%
other: 86.06% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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63,200 sq km (2003) |
Total renewable water resources:
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457.2 cu km (2000) |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 78.22 cu km/yr (17%/5%/77%)
Per capita: 731 cu m/yr (2000) |
Natural hazards:
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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:
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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:
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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 |
Geography - note:
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strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
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