General Indicators
Climate: varies from tropical to desert.
Terrain: high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert.
Elevation extremes:
- lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
- highest point: Pico de Orizaba volcano 5,610 m
Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas and timber.
Land use:
- arable land: 12%
- permanent crops: 1%
- permanent pastures: 39%
- forests and woodland: 26%
- other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 61,000 km2 (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: Tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts.
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 the US-Mexico border.
Environment – international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling and Kyoto Protocol.
Read more about this topic: Mexico/Geography
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