6.3 Students will identify the characteristics of climate regions in Europe and the Americas and describe major physical features, countries and cities of Europe and the Western Hemisphere. 6.3.3 - Places and Regions: Describe and compare major physical characteristics of regions in Europe and the Americas. 6.3.4 - Describe and compare major physical characteristics of regions in Europe and the Americas. 6.3.5 - Describe and compare major cultural characteristics of regions in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. 6.3.9 - Human Systems: Identify current patterns of population distribution and growth in Europe and the Americas using a variety of geographic representations such as maps, charts, graphs, and satellite images and aerial photography. 6.3.13 - Environment and Society: Explain the impact of humans on the physical environment in Europe and the Americas.

Instructions Anything written in yellow (SLOW down and pay attention) is useful information. You should write it in your notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Anything in red (STOP and pay close attention) is critical information and should be copied exactly. Anything in green (GO on to the next point) you do not have to write.

Mexico’s landscape consists mainly of highlands and coastal plains. Mexico is part of Latin America, a region in the Western Hemisphere where Mexico Geography Spanish and Portuguese culture shaped life Mexico is also part of North America, along with the United States and Canada. Unlike its northern neighbors, Mexico’s landscape consists mainly of highlands and coastal plains.

Mexico

The Big Idea Mexico is a large country with different natural environments in its northern, central, and southern regions.

Main Ideas Mexico’s physical features include plateaus, mountains, and coastal lowlands. Mexico’s climate and vegetation include deserts, tropical forests, and cool highlands. Key natural resources in Mexico include oil, silver, gold, and scenic landscapes.

Mexico shares a long border with the southern United States. Main Idea 1 - Mexico’s physical features include plateaus, mountains, and coastal lowlands. Mexico shares a long border with the southern United States. The Río Bravo, called the Rio Grande in the U.S., runs along part of this border. The Río Bravo is one of Mexico’s few major rivers.

Mexico’s Physical Features Bodies of Water Bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the West and the Gulf of Mexico in the east Stretching south from northern Mexico is a peninsula, or piece of land surrounded by water on three sides, called Baja California. The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea.

Mexico’s Physical Features Plateaus and Mountains Much of interior is a region called the Mexican Plateau. Two mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre Oriental in the east and the Sierra Madre Occidental in the west, are part of the Sierra Madre, or “mother range.” The Valley of Mexico, where Mexico City is located, lies between these two ranges in the south. The mountains south of Mexico City include volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are a threat to that region.

Coastal Lowlands The land slopes down to the coast from highlands in central Mexico. The Gulf coastal plain is wide and flat. This region has good soils and climate for farming. The Yucatán Peninsula is mostly flat. Erosion of limestone created caves and sinkholes that are often filled with water.

The great variety of climates produces different vegetation. Main Idea 2 - Mexico’s climate and vegetation include deserts, tropical forests, and cool highlands. The great variety of climates produces different vegetation. Changes in elevation cause climates to vary within short distances. The Mexican Plateau can have cool temperatures.

Main Idea 2 Continue The southern coastal areas have warm temperatures and summer rainy seasons that support tropical forests that cover 25 percent of Mexico. The climate in the Yucatán Peninsula is hot and dry, supporting scrub forest. Most of northern Mexico is dry and made up of deserts and grasslands.

Two Questions 1. Where is Mexico’s desert climate located? 2. What part of Mexico probably gets the most rain?

Mexico has rich natural resources. Main Idea 3 - Key natural resources in Mexico include oil, silver, gold, and scenic landscapes. Mexico has rich natural resources. The southern and coastal plains and the Gulf of Mexico have oil. Mexico’s mines yield gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. Mexico produces more silver than any other country in the world.