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: | North America |
| 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 3,141 km |
| Coastline: | 9,330 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
contiguous zone: 24 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 |
| 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
Source: CIA World Factbook
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