Chapter 13 Mexico 6 th Grade Social Studies

Section 1:Physical Geography Section 2:History and Culture Section 3:Mexico Today CHAPTER 13 Mexico

Locate Gulf of Mexico Baja California Gulf of California Rio Bravo Mexican Plateau Mount Orizaba X X X X X X

Locate (cont.) Sierra Madre Occidental Sierra Madre Oriental

States of Mexico

Main Ideas The major physical features of Mexico include Baja California, Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Valley of Mexico, mount Orizaba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of California, Rio Bravo. The major climate zones of Mexico are steppe, desert, savanna, and humid tropical.

Main Idea (cont.) The major climate zones of Mexico are steppe, desert, savanna, and humid tropical.

Vocabulary sinkholes A steep-sided depression formed when the roof of a cave collapses

SECTION 1 Physical Geography The Physical Geography of Mexico Landforms Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Baja California, Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Yucatán Peninsula, Valley of Mexico Bodies of Water Rio Bravo, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of California Resources oil, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc Climates/ Animals/Plants deserts, steppe, savanna, humid tropical/ cougars, coyotes, deer, anteaters, jaguars, mon- keys, parrots/ desert scrub, rain forests, dry grasslands MEXICO

Regions of Mexico (6:53) Click Screen to begin

Sec 2: History and Culture Objectives Identify some early cultures that developed in Mexico. Describe what Mexico was like under Spanish rule and after Independence. Identify some important features of Mexican culture.

Main Ideas The Maya’s major achievements included astronomical calculations, calendar, a writing system, and complex agricultural systems. The Aztec’s built Tenochtitlan, and grew crops on chinampas. The effects of Spanish rule on Mexico was a blend of cultures, the spread of Roman Catholicism, mining of gold and silver, and the division of land into haciendas.

Vocabulary chinampas (chuh-NAM-puhs) The name the Aztecs gave to raised fields on which they grew crops conquistadores (kahn-kees-tuh-DAWR-ez) Spanish conquerors during the era of colonization in the Americas epidemic Widespread outbreak, often referring to a disease

Vocabulary (cont.) empire A system in which a central power controls a number of territories mestizos (me-STEE-zohs) People of mixed European and American Indian ancestry mulattoes (muh-LA-tohs) People of mixed European and African ancestry

Vocabulary (cont.) missions Spanish church outposts established during the colonial era, particularly in the Americas ejidos (e-HEE-thohs) Lands owned and worked by groups of Mexican Indians haciendas (hah-see-EN-duhs) Huge farmlands granted by the Spanish monarch to favored people in Spain’s colonies

History of Mexico (12:25) Click Screen to begin

SECTION 2 History and Culture Colonial Mexico Spanish, American Indians, and Africans mixed cultures, Missions established to spread religion, Ejidos taken away, replaced by haciendas. After Independence Texas revolts, later joins the United States; in war over U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico loses land to United States; 1920 revolution changes government and restores ejidos back to peasants Independence

Main Ideas The three economic problems faced by Mexico include debt to foreign banks, high unemployment, and inflation. Greater Mexico City is the most developed and crowded. The Central interior has fertile valleys. The Oil coast is a forested plain with a growing population. Southern Mexico is the poorest region. Northern Mexico is prosperous and modern and the Yucatan is sparsely populated and draws tourism.

Vocabulary inflation The rise in prices that occurs when currency loses its buying power cash crops Crops produced primarily to sell rather than for the farmer to eat smog A mixture of smoke, chemicals, and fog

Vocabulary (cont.) maquiladoras (mah-kee-lah-DORH-ahs) Foreign- owned factories located along Mexico’s northern border with the United States slash-and-burn agriculture A type of agriculture in which forests are cut and burned to clear land for planting

Mexico: Part 1 (18:44) Click Screen to begin

Mexico: Park 2 (18:06) Click Screen to begin

SECTION 3 Mexico Today ECONOMY—Challenges foreign debts, poverty, high unemployment, inflation ECONOMY—Industry oil, mining, manufacturing, many foreign companies build factories in Mexico GOVERNMENT elected president and a congress, Partido Revolucionario Institucional controlled government for 71 years ECONOMY—Agriculture farming, coffee, sugarcane, livestock ranching, cash crops ECONOMY—Tourism visit old colonial sites, Maya and Aztec monuments, coastal resorts Mexico Government and Economy of Mexico

Chapter Wrap-Up 1. What is the Mexican Plateau? 2. Why are the coastal plains now more heavily settled? 3. How did European diseases affect the Indians in Mexico? 4. What were the main ethnic divisions in New Spain? 5. How are agriculture and industry in Mexico and the United States related? 1. What is the Mexican Plateau? 2. Why are the coastal plains now more heavily settled? 3. How did European diseases affect the Indians in Mexico? 4. What were the main ethnic divisions in New Spain? 5. How are agriculture and industry in Mexico and the United States related? CHAPTER 13

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