mexico's climate and economic regions
TRANSCRIPT
Mexico’s Climate and Economic Regions
Ch. 6, Section 1, part 2
Land of Many Climates
• Latitude and altitude affect climate• Three altitudes in Mexico
– “tierra caliente” - hot land, Coastal lowlands (sea level)– “tierra templada” - temperate land” moving higher, moderate climate– “tierra fria” - cold land, highest elevations
Altitude Zones
Rainfall• Baja and northern Mexico don’t get
much rain year-round, but other places do - mostly in the summer and early fall.
• Hurricanes can hit Mexico June to Oct.
Mexico’s Economic Regions
• Mexico’s physical geography and climate have created 3 economic regions:– The North– Central Mexico– The South
Northern Mexico
• Monterrey - main producer of steel and cement• Where most vaqueros (cowboys) live Many countries, including the U.S., have built maquiladoras in Northern Mexico. - These are factories that assemble parts made
in other countries.
* Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez
Central Mexico
• More than 1/2 of Mexico’s people live here.
• Why is the climate pleasant year round?
• Soil here was created by volcanic eruptions and is very fertile.
Central Mexico
• Mexico City and Guadalajara are to large industrial cities found here
• 22 million people in Mexico city and suburbs!
• It is the largest city in the Americas since before the Spanish arrived in the 1500’s.
Southern Mexico
• Poorest economic region in the country
• The mountains in the center of this region have poor soil, so subsistence farming is common there.
• Lowlands have good soil, so larger farms are found there.
Southern Mexico
• Plantations are common in the lowlands
• These are large farms that raise a single crop ex. Sugarcane, bananas
• Beautiful beaches are found here. Resort cities include: Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Cancùn
Mexico’s Economy Today
• Mexico’s economy ranks in the top 15 in the world!– Crop exports include: coffee, cotton,
vegetables, fruit, livestock, tobacco
Mexico’s Economy Today
• Recently, Mexico has industrialized• This means:
• Factories in Mexico now produce things like: cars, consumer goods, and steel
• Service industries are important here• Oil can be found in the Gulf of Mexico
and southern coast.
NAFTA
• Some Americans have been afraid that belonging to NAFTA means American jobs will “go south”.
• They fear the lower rate for labor in Mexico will encourage manufacturers to move their businesses to Mexico.