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A Land of Mountains
- *two large ranges are on each coast
- 1) Sierra Madre Occidental
- 2) Sierra Madre Oriental
- *Mexico's largest region, the Central Plateau, is between the ranges
- *Baja California is on the western side
- *Yucatan Peninsula is on the eastern side
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The Central Plateau
- *Mexico's most important region
- *contains about 80% of the population
- *region is very unstable geologically
- -four tectonic plates meet under the plateau
- --this causes frequent earthquakes
- *climate conditions make this a popular region to live in
- *higher elevations help keep the climate stable
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Coastal Regions
- 1) Northern Pacific Coast
- 2) Southern Pacific Coast
- 3) Sierra Madre del Sur
- 4) Gulf Coastal Plain
- 5) Yucatan Peninsula
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Northern Pacific Coast
- *very dry and hot
- *population is limited by climate and terrain
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Southern Pacific Coast
*very narrow (14 miles wide)
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Sierra Madre del Sur
- *towers above the coast
- *very popular region for tourism
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Gulf Coastal Plain
- *vital to Mexico's economy
- *petroleum and natural gas are found here
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Yucatan Peninsula
- *generally flat
- *many sinkholes develop under the limestone
- *ancient Mayan ruins attract many visitors
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From Empire to Colony
- *Mayans built large cities in Mexico and Central America between 250 and 900 AD
- -known for studying the stars and creating a detailed calendar
- *their civilization suddenly collapsed sometime after 900 AD
- *Aztecs built a powerful empire
- *their capital, Tenochtitlan, is on the present site of Mexico City
- *Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes, destroyed the Aztec empire (in 1521)
- *four social classes settled into New Spain
- *Indians worked on haciendas
- -these were large, Spanish-owned states
- -almost was like slavery
- *the catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo, led the Criollos rebellion against the Spanish
- *Mexico gained its independence in 1821
- *Mexican revolution began in 1910
- -this led to the current democratic republic
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Mexico Today
- *official language is Spanish
- *most people are catholic
- *the government uses land redistribution to break up haciendas
- *most of the land became ejidos
- -farmland owned collectively
- -most ejido farmers are subsistence farmers (farm for themselves)
- *commercial farms are called latifundios
- -cash crops are popular on commercial farm
- *many landless, jobless peasants became migrant workers
- *major industries are petroleum and tourism
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