Mexico Geography - 2024

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 United States

Geographic coordinates

23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map references

North America

Area

total: 1,964,375 sq km

land: 1,943,945 sq km

water: 20,430 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 4,389 km

border countries (3): Belize 276 km; Guatemala 958 km; US 3,155 km

Coastline

9,330 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Terrain

high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert

Elevation

highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,636 m

lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m

mean elevation: 1,111 m

Natural resources

petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Land use

agricultural land: 54.9% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)

other: 11.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

60,620 sq km (2020)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Laguna de Chapala - 1,140 sq km

salt water lake(s): Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of Mexico) Rio Grande/Bravo (607,965 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: (Gulf of California) Colorado (703,148 sq km)

Major aquifers

Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer

Population distribution

most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

Natural hazards

tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts

volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Geography - note

note 1: strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 2: some of the world's most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the "Three Sisters" companion plants - winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans - served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world's most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato

note 3: the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see "Geography - note" under United States)

note 4: the prominent Yucatán Peninsula that divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of Mexico); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth's plant and animal species - including the non-avian dinosaurs