Central Mexico

- home of Mexico City

- government is centered here

- pop. is around 30 million people in Mexico City

- lots of service industries

- economy heart of Mexico

- home to 1/2 the population of Mexico

- large industrial city

- good agriculture

The North

- Home of the monterrey

- Maquiladora: factories that assemble parts from other countires:

- incresed because of NAFTA

- cheaper cost of labor

- Dry, but farms cotton fruits, veggies, cereals:

- irrigation of the Rio Grande

- Ranches pigs and cattle

- Includes Baja and Northern Plateau of Mexico

The South

- Poorest economic reagion

- Lots of subsistance farming in mountains

Plantation Farming:

- commercial farm that grows only one cash crop

- Wealthy people live in valleys to grow crops

Tourism:

- Beaches, Mayan Ruins

Mexico Industiralized

Occured around 1950:

- 50 years behind USA

- Agriculture > Manufacturing

Bad:

- lots of pollution (air)

Good:

- NAFTA

- create more jobs because of more trading

Population Changes

- Growing twice as fast as USA

- Better healthcare and living conditions

- Birthrate increasing

Popocatepetl

- 17,887 ft (active)

- Means "Smoky Mountain"

-Known as Popo

- Poses a threat to Mexico City

Starts at the Tierra Fria at 6,500 ft

Mexico City is in the middle of them

3 different types of volcanoes

- Dormant: small amounts of volcanic activity

- Active: lots of volcanic activity

- Extinct: no volcanic activity

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is one of the great rivers of Mexico

and is located on the border of U.S and Mexico.

It runs about 1,500 miles along the border and dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. Today the Rio Grande is not a big river because its is heavuly used for irrigation.

Tierra Fria

When you head into the mountains you are entering the Tierra Fra which means "cold land". The tempature averages around 68 degrees F and lower usually. Small trees and wildflowers live in the rocky soil, but when you travel further up the smaller amount of plant life you see.

- 6,500 ft- 18,701

- An altitude zone

- Most of Central Mexico

Peninsulas

The first peninsula is called Baja California and it is long, thin, and surrounded on 3 of its sides by water. It is located south along the wast coast. The second peninsula is called the Yucatan and it is wider, shorter, and fatter compared to Baja. It is located in the east and far down from the gulf. Baja consist of deserts and Yucatan consists of mostly rainforests.

Baja:

- Lots of mountains

- Mostly desert

- Long and skinny

- Pacific

- Mostly uninhabited

Yucatan:

- Mostly flat

- Lots of vegitation

- Short and flat

- Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic)

- Large population

Land of the shaking earth

- Refers to Central Mexico

The aztecs were the people who names Mexico "Land of the shaking earth". They named Mexico this because Mexico lays on a place where plates (plate tectonics) of earth have collided for many years. These collisions cause mountains, volcanoes, and many earthquakes. At the time of the Aztecs the ground was still moving.

3 Major Mountain Ranges

One of the major mountain range is names the Sierra Madre Occidental and runs from the south to the north and it is along the western coastline. The next range is named the Sierra Madre Oriental and it goes across the eastern side of Mexico. The last mountain range is named the Sierra Madre del Sur and it is full of deep ridges and canyons along Southwestern Mexico.

Highest Points

Ixtacihuatl: 17,343 ft (extinct)

- Means "Pregnant woman lying on her back"

- Known as Ixta

Citlaltepepetl: 18,701 ft (dormant)

- Known as Ozizaba

Popocatapetl: 17,887 ft (active)

- Means "Smoky Mountain"

- Known as Popo

- Poses a threat to Mexico City

Economy

- Not enough jobs

- Low pay (very poor)

- Farming and tourism is big

Farming:

- 1 crop (sugar for example)

- Subsistance farming: small amount of land

                > Grows corn, beans, and rice

- Plantation owners (commercial)

                > Grow bananas,coffee,tobacco,sugercane

Tourism= service industries

- Cruise ships bring thousands of tourists

                > Environmental damage

- Beautiful beaches

- Clear water'

- Culture

Cultural Mix:

- Mix of

     > Africans

             - Brought to the West Indies as slaves

                        > Working on sugar plantations

             - Population has increaased and they are   now the dominant culture

             - Slaves were captured from West Africa

                        > Taken to West Indies

                                   - The Middle Passage

                        > In the West Indies slaves were auctioned

                        > Some stayed in West Indies

                        > Some went to South America

                        > Some went to USA

    > Native americans

            - Not many left because of European diseases

    > Europeans

            - British > Jamaica

            - French > Mortinque

            - Dutch > Netherland Antilles

            - Spanish > Puerto Rico

                        > Spanish were 1st to colonize

                        > Established plantations

                        > Christianity