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Mexico

 
     
    • Location: 
      Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatamala and the US 
     
    • Map references: 
      North America 
     
    • Area: 
     
        total area: 
        1,972,550 sq km 
     
        land area: 
        1,923,040 sq km 
     
        comparative area: 
        slightly less than three times the size of Texas 
     
    • Land boundaries: 
      total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km 
     
    • Coastline: 
      9,330 km 
     
    • Maritime claims: 
     
        contiguous zone: 
        24 nm 
     
        continental shelf: 
        200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin 
     
        exclusive economic zone: 
        200 nm 
     
        territorial sea: 
        12 nm 
     
    • International disputes: 
      claims Clipperton Island (French possession) 
     
    • Climate: 
      varies from tropical to desert 
     
    • Terrain: 
      high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert 
     
    • Natural resources: 
      petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber 
     
    • Land use: 
     
        arable land: 
        12% 
     
        permanent crops: 
        1% 
     
        meadows and pastures: 
        39% 
     
        forest and woodland: 
        24% 
     
        other: 
        24% 
     
    • Irrigated land: 
      51,500 sq km (1989 est.) 
     
    • Environment: 
     
        current issues: 
        natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border 
     
        natural hazards: 
        tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts 
     
        international agreements: 
        party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification 
     
    • Note: 
      strategic location on southern border of US