GEOGRAPHY
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
