• 6.3 Students will identify the characteristics of climate regions in
Europe and the Americas and describe major physical features,
countries and cities of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
• 6.3.3 - Places and Regions: Describe and compare major
physical characteristics of regions in Europe and the
Americas.
• 6.3.4 - Describe and compare major physical characteristics of
regions in Europe and the Americas.
• 6.3.5 - Describe and compare major cultural characteristics of
regions in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
• 6.3.9 - Human Systems: Identify current patterns of
population distribution and growth in Europe and the
Americas using a variety of geographic representations such
as maps, charts, graphs, and satellite images and aerial
photography.
• 6.3.13 - Environment and Society: Explain the impact of
humans on the physical environment in Europe and the
Americas.
Instructions
• Anything written in yellow (SLOW down and
pay attention) is useful information. You
should write it in your notes IN YOUR OWN
WORDS.
• Anything in red (STOP and pay close attention)
is critical information and should be copied
exactly.
• Anything in green (GO on to the next point)
you do not have to write.
Mexico
The Big Idea
• Mexico is a large
country with
different natural
environments in its
northern, central,
and southern
regions.
Main Ideas
• Mexico’s physical features include
plateaus, mountains, and coastal
lowlands.
• Mexico’s climate and vegetation include
deserts, tropical forests, and cool
highlands.
• Key natural resources in Mexico include
oil, silver, gold, and scenic landscapes.
Main Idea 1 - Mexico’s physical features
include plateaus, mountains, and coastal
lowlands.
• Mexico shares a long
border with the
southern United States.
• The Río Bravo, called
the Rio Grande in the
U.S., runs along part of
this border.
• The Río Bravo is one of
Mexico’s few major
rivers.
Mexico’s Physical Features
Bodies of Water
• Bordered by the Pacific Ocean in
the West and the Gulf of
Mexico in the east
• Stretching south from northern
Mexico is a peninsula, or piece
of land surrounded by water on
three sides, called Baja
California.
• The Yucatán Peninsula
separates the Gulf of Mexico
from the Caribbean Sea.
Mexico’s Physical Features
Plateaus and Mountains
• Much of interior is a region called the
Mexican Plateau.
• Two mountain ranges, the Sierra
Madre Oriental in the east and the
Sierra Madre Occidental in the west,
are part of the Sierra Madre, or
“mother range.”
• The Valley of Mexico, where Mexico
City is located, lies between these two
ranges in the south.
• The mountains south of Mexico City
include volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes are a threat to that
region.
Coastal Lowlands
• The land slopes down to the coast
from highlands in central Mexico.
• The Gulf coastal plain is wide and
flat.
– This region has good soils and
climate for farming.
• The Yucatán Peninsula is mostly
flat.
– Erosion of limestone created
caves and sinkholes that are
often filled with water.
Main Idea 2 - Mexico’s climate and vegetation
include deserts, tropical forests, and cool highlands.
•The great variety of
climates produces
different vegetation.
•Changes in elevation
cause climates to vary
within short
distances.
•The Mexican Plateau
can have cool
temperatures.
Main Idea 2 Continue
•The southern coastal areas
have warm temperatures
and summer rainy seasons
that support tropical forests
that cover 25 percent of
Mexico.
•The climate in the Yucatán
Peninsula is hot and dry,
supporting scrub forest.
•Most of northern Mexico is
dry and made up of deserts
and grasslands.
Two Questions
• 1. Where is Mexico’s
desert climate located?
• 2. What part of
Mexico probably gets
the most rain?
Main Idea 3 - Key natural resources in Mexico include
oil, silver, gold, and scenic landscapes.
• Mexico has rich natural
resources.
• The southern and coastal
plains and the Gulf of
Mexico have oil.
• Mexico’s mines yield gold,
silver, copper, lead, and zinc.
• Mexico produces more silver
than any other country in
the world.