Mexico Class Notes Week of November 29, 2010

Note #1- Land Bridge Mexico is known as a land bridge because it connects two large continents, North America and South America.

Note #2- Continent Mexico is on the continent of North America. Parts of Mexico are so narrow that the Pacific Ocean and the gulf of Mexico are only separated by 140 miles of land.

Note #3- Topography The center of Mexico has a towering mountain range and a huge high plateau.

Note #4- Sierra Madre Also known as the mother range. This is the largest group of mountain ranges in Mexico. Very few people live here but there are many natural resources. http://northamerica.theworldatlas.net/mexico/mexico.jpg

Note #5- The Plateau of Mexico The Plateau of Mexico is surrounded by the Sierra Madre. In the northern part you find deserts and grassey plains. In the south you find high snow capped mountains. In the center you find flat valleys, this is where most of the cities are found.

Note #6- Coastal Lowlands Mexico's lowland plains squeeze between the mountains and sea. This is where you find ranching, farming, growing crops and raising animals.

Note #7- Climate Mexico has many different climates. This is because of its latitude and its various levels of altitude across the different regions of mexico.

Note #8- Natural Disasters A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard (e.g., flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, or landslide) that affects the environment, and leads to financial, environmental and/or human losses.

Note #9- Baja Baja California is a long thin peninsula, or piece of land with water on three sides.

Note #10- Mexico's

Note #5- North Mexico’s economy ranks in the top 12 in the world. It has mainly been an agricultural economy for years, but recently it has industrialized. Mexico has many natural resources. a major one is oil.

Note #6- Migrant Workers Mexico’s population has increased rapidly over the last decades. This has resulted in overcrowding in the cities and lack of jobs. So many Mexicans cross the border of the USA and work for very low wages, but seem high to them.

Note #7- Religion 89% of Mexican people claim to be Roman Catholic.

Note #8- The Maya The Maya built their empire in what is now present day Mexico. They built large pyramids where they worshiped the gods. They believed that the gods controlled every aspect of their lives. They developed a 365 day calendar and hieroglyphics.

Note #9- Aztec Hundreds of years later, Aztec hunters came through what used to be Mayan cities. They found an island in the middle of lake Texcoco and made it their home.

Note #10- Mexican/American History American forces fought the Mexican government to separate Texas from Mexico. The Battle of the Alamo was a battle that the Americans lost, but it inspired the Americans to try harder and eventually win. 10 years later was the Mexican- American War over Texas. America won and Texas became part of our country.