Geography of Mexico
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Location: North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US.
Geographic coordinates: Template:Coor dm
Map references: North America
Area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
- total: 1,972,550 km²
- land: 1,923,040 km²
- water: 49,510 km²
Land boundaries:
- total: 4,538 km
- border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km The two tiny island on the Pacific of Guadalupe and Revillagigedo. Maritime claims:
- contiguous zone: 24 nm
- continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
- exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
- territorial sea: 12 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: Pico de Orizaba volcano 5,610 m
Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas and timber.
Land use:
- arable land: 12%
- permanent crops: 1%
- permanent pastures: 39%
- forests and woodland: 26%
- other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 61,000 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: Tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts.
Environment - current issues: 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; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border.
Environment - international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling and Kyoto Protocol.