mexico
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Mexico. Latin America Notes. Mexico and Central America stretch for 2,500 miles, from the U.S. border to South America. Geography of Mexico:. Mountains dominate most of Mexico. Sierra Madres run along both coasts of Mexico. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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MexicoLatin America Notes
Mexico and Central America stretch for 2,500 miles, from the U.S. border to South America
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Geography of Mexico:Mountains dominate most of Mexico. Sierra Madres run along both coasts of Mexico.
Between the Sierra Madres runs a plateau = an area of high, flat land
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Baja California = “Lower California” and is part of Mexico.
Baja California is a peninsula, which is a strip of land that is surrounded on three sides by water.
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Central Plateau:Most people live in Mexico’s central plateau.
Because of the surrounding mountains it is hard for people to travel to and from the Central Plateau.
4/5 of Mexico’s population live in the Central Plateau
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Natural Hazards: The Central Plateau is unstable because four tectonic plates meet there.
Because of moving tectonic plates, active volcanoes are located on the edge of the plateau.
In 1985, a strong earthquake hit Mexico City, killing about 10,000 people and causing about $4.1 billion in damage
Hospital
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Climate FactorsSierra Madres block rainfall coming from the ocean, some areas in the central plateau only receive 4 inches of precipitation/year.
Because the central plateau is at a high elevation, about 7,000 feet, the climate is pleasant year-round. Mid 70’s
Climate draws people to Mexico City.
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The Coastal Regions of MexicoNorthern Pacific Coast – Dry, hot, and thinly populated. - Despite its arid climate this region has some of the best farmland in Mexico
Southern Pacific Coast – Smaller mountain range edges the narrow southern Pacific coast
-Not much farm land, but tourism is big in this region-Tropical climateGulf Coastal Plain –
Very important to Mexico’s economy – vast deposits of petroleum and natural gases
- One of the world’s major oil-producing regions
Yucatan Peninsula –Generally flat-Tourism greatly contributes to economic development in this area,Ancient Mayan ruins attract many visitors and archaeologists
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A Place of Three Cultures: Native Americans, Spanish and mestizoAztecs:In 1400’s Aztecs built a powerful empire around their capital city, Tenochtitlan. In 1519, Spanish
conquistador Hernan Cortes and 600 Spaniards marched into Tenochtitlan.
Within 2 years the Spanish took over Tenochtitlan and the Aztecs, and re-named the city “New Spain”
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New Spain:
Peninsulares = Born in Spain, moved to New Spain, held high official positions
Indians = ranked lowest, provided labor, slave like existence.
Criollos = People of Spanish ancestry born in New Spain
Mestizos = People of mixed ancestry
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Road to Democracy:Tensions were raised between different social classes . Lead to resentment between the criollos and the peninsulares.
In 1810, a criollo, Miguel Hidalgo declared a rebellion against Spanish rule. Resulting in a war of independence.
In 1821, Mexico became an independent nation, with military dictators
In 1910, peasants and middle-class Mexican rebelled causing the Mexican Revolution.
The Mexican Revolution stood up to the military dictator and ended in 1920 with a new democratic president and constitution
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Social ConditionsRural Life = Most people in the countryside work in agriculture, on haciendas. Haciendas are large, Spanish owned estates of land.
3-4 million rural Mexican families have no land or opportunity for work. These people are called migrant workers. Migrant workers = landless, jobless peasants, traveling from place to place for work.
Urban Life = ¾ of Mexican people live in urban areas. Mexico City is one of the largest urban areas in the world.
City life means better job opportunities, chances for education and excitement
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Economic ActivitiesNAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement. A free trade network between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. With NAFTA Mexico’s trade with the U.S. and Canada doubled, and manufacturing increased and unemployment declined in Mexico.
Major Industries = Petroleum and Tourism
Along the U.S. and Mexico border, more than 2,000 factories assemble products almost exclusively for the U.S.