Download Mexico

OBJECTIVES: Students will identify
the main physical characteristics that
affect daily life in Mexico's heartland
region.
And...
Differentiate between Mexico's four (4)
coastal regions.
Capitulo Diez (Chapter 10)
Mexico
Standard:
7.2.8.A: Explain the characteristics of places and regions.
2.23.15
Agenda:
1. PDN
2. Notes
3. Ticket out the Door
Anchors:
CC8.5.6-8.D: Determine the
meaning of words as they are
used in text (vocab.).
CC8.5.6-8.B: Determine the
central ideas or information of a
primary or secondary source.
Intro
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When you think of Mexico physically, what comes to
mind?
Continued...
❖
Mountains dominate Mexico's physical setting.
•
Largest range = Sierra Madre Occidental
•
Second Largest = Sierra Madre Oriental
Between the mother ranges lies Mexico's central
plateau.
•
An area of high, flat land.
Continued...
❖
Northern Pacific Coast includes Baja California, a
peninsula.
•
Strip of Land.
❖
Tropical coastline on the southern pacific coast.
❖
Yucatan Peninsula, East towards Gulf of Mexico.
The Heartland Region
❖
Central plateau is Mexico's most important and
populated region.
❖
Southern part of plateau, nourished by plenty of rain and
rich soil, has Mexico's best farmland.
❖
Roughly 80% of Mexican people live here.
Natural Hazards
❖
❖
Mexico is located at the intersection of four (4) tectonic plates.
•
North American Plate
•
Caribbean Plate
•
Pacific Plate
•
Cocos Plate
Tectonic plates move against one another and push jagged
mountain ranges.
•
•
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Climate Factors
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Climate makes Mexico's central plateau a desirable place to
live despite hazards.
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Sierra Madres block rainfall coming from the ocean (North).
Climate Factors Continued...
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Elevation is a key factor in the climate of the central plateau.
❖
Southern part of plateau is in the tropics, but climate is not
tropical due to... ?? High Elevations, roughly 7,000 ft.
❖
Mexico City's attractive climate has caused people to flock
to the city in search of a better life.
Climate Factors Continued...
❖
The city is now encircled by ciudades perdidas.
❖
Many newcomers are underemployed... Working, but
earning little money.
❖
Mexico City's poor live in slums, often without sewage.
and running water.
The Coastal Regions
❖
Plains are widest along the Gulf and northern Pacific
coasts, stretching inland 80 miles before rising to meet
the mountains.
❖
Southern Pacific coast mountains crowd close to the
ocean (15 miles).
Northern Pacific Coast
❖
Dry, hot and thinly populated.
❖
One exception, Tijuana... Fast growing, great farmland.
•
Irrigation - Artificial watering of farmland by storing and
distribution of water drawn from reservoirs or rivers.
Southern Pacific Coast
❖
Smaller mountain range, steep-sided Sierra Madre del
Sur, edges the narrow southern Pacific coast.
❖
Little farmland, but climate and spectacular environment
favorite tourism.
Gulf Coastal Plain
❖
Vitally important to Mexican economy.
❖
Beneath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are deposits of
petroleum and natural gas.
Yucatan Peninsula
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Generally flat.
❖
Limestone bedrock soil.
❖
Rain seeps through surface of land, working its way into the rock.
Limestone is dissolved, creating underground caverns.
❖
Periodically the roof of a cavern collapses, and a sinkhole is
formed.