Christina Gonzalez and Reynel Oliva
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23 00 N, 102 00 W
◦ Mexico is located in North America.
◦ It borders the United States to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the
west and south, and the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to
the east; also Guatemala and Belize to the south.
◦ Mexico's total area covers 1,972,550 square kilometers, including
approximately 6,000 square kilometers of islands in the Pacific
Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of California.
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Central America is the central geographic
portion of the Americas.
It is a narrow neck of land which contains
Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize,
Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica
592,000 square kilometers.
The Pacific Ocean lies to the southwest, the
Caribbean sea lies to the northeast, and the
Gulf of Mexico lies to the north.
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During the Autumnal Equinox, days and
nights are of equal length.
During the Vernal Equinox, days vary within
minutes.
March 17- 12 hours of day and night.
March 18- 12 hours 3 minutes of day, 12
hours 5 minutes of night.
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During the Autumnal Equinox, both day and
night are of equal length
During the Vernal Equinox, hours vary in
terms of minutes
March 17-Sunrise 6am Sunset 6pm. March
18, Sunrise 6:04am Sunset 6:05 pm
12 hours of day and night in all equinox,
except the vernal (spring) equinox
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Mexico uses three time zones.
◦ Central Standard Time-most of the country uses this.
◦ Mountain Standard Time- states of Chihuahua, Nayarit,
Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur.
◦ Pacific Standard Time- Baja California Norte.
 Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in April.
On the last Sunday in October areas on Daylight Saving Time fall back to
Standard Time at 2:00 a.m. The names in each time zone change along with
Daylight Saving Time. Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight
Time (CDT), and so forth. The state of Sonora does not observe Daylight Saving
Time.
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Mexico has a Central Standard Time with the UTC of 6
subtracted hours and 5 daylight savings time hours,
based on the mean solar time of the 90th degree
meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.
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Central America has a Central Standard
Time
Subtraction of 6 hours from the
Coordinated Universal Time, and 5 hours
during daylight savings time
The clock time in this zone is based on the
mean solar time of the 90th degree
meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory
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Tropic of Cancer- directly separates Central
America from Mexico.
Tropic of Capricorn-Central America lies
south of it, and Mexico lies north of it, also
lies west of the Prime Meridian.
Equator-Both are north of the equator.
Amethyst
Grossular
Rosasite
Boleite
Legrandite
Acanthite
Danburite
Mimetite
Wulfenite & Barite
Apatitie
Arsenopyrite
Topaz
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In Central America we have many calcites and
crystals like Red Opal, Blue Opal, Pink Opal,
and spikes.
Elements, Oxides, carbonates
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North American plate- Most of the Mexican
landmass rests on this westward moving
plate.
Cocos plate- The Pacific Ocean floor off
southern Mexico is being carried northeast by
the underlying motion of this plate.
Pacific plate- Areas of Mexico's coastline on
the Gulf of California, including the Baja
California Peninsula, are riding
northwestward on this plate.
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The Plate Tectonics of both Mexico and
Central America are intertwined.
This means that the possibility of volcanoes
erupting is plausible.
Earthquakes are created by these eruptions
and tsunamis are triggered as well.
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Ocean floor material is relatively dense; when it strikes the lighter granite of
the Mexican landmass, the ocean floor is forced under the landmass,
creating the deep Middle America Trench that lies off Mexico's southern
coast.
The westward moving land atop the North American plate is slowed and
crumpled where it meets the Cocos plate, creating the mountain ranges of
southern Mexico.
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Mexico is crossed from north to south by two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and
Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North
America. From east to west at the center, the country is crossed by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
also known as the Sierra Nevada. A fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from
Michoacán to Oaxaca. As such, the majority of the Mexican central and northern territories are
located at high altitudes, and the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt:
Pico de Orizaba (5,700 m), Popocatépetl(5,462 m) and Iztaccíhuatl(5,286 m) and the Nevado de
Toluca (4,577 m). Three major urban agglomerations are located in the valleys between these four
elevations: Toluca, Greater Mexico City and Puebla.
The subduction of the Cocos plate accounts for the frequency of earthquakes
near Mexico's southern coast. As the rocks constituting the ocean floor are
forced down, they melt, and the molten material is forced up through
weaknesses in the surface rock, creating the volcanoes in the Cordillera
Neovolcánica across central Mexico.
Rather than one plate subducting, the Pacific and North American plates
grind past each other, creating a slip fault that is the southern extension of
the San Andreas fault in California. Motion along this fault in the past pulled
Baja California away from the coast, creating the Gulf of California.
Continued motion along this fault is the source of earthquakes in western
Mexico.
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Mountain ranges vary from big to small like any other
place in the world that contains mountains. Mountains
like Epicztal and Topectzal.
All of the volcanoes are located on the eastern side of
Central America; among them are Santa Maria, Fuego,
Arenal, Terica, Casita, etc.
No glaciers, however in terms of lakes and rivers we
have the San Juan Lake, Marion, Putnam, Osceola,
among others. In terms of Rivers we have Rio Lempa
and Rio Grande (Mexico border) also Veracruz.
The possibility of earthquakes is moderate since
volcanoes are present, but calm (sleeping). Tsunamis
can also be created by these earthquakes due to both
geographic parts of the world.
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Since atmospheric pressure results from the
weight of the overlying air, it is less at
higher altitudes.
According to the formula given above, the
atmospheric pressure in Mexico City is 764
atm. Keeping in mind that oxygen makes up
21% of the atmospheric constituents, the
partial pressure of oxygen (O2) in 2240 m
altitude is roughly 160 atm, compared to the
213 atm at sea level.
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The mercury level at a high atmospheric
pressure in Central America is somewhere
between 20-25 inch of mercury. Its low
points are between 12-15 inches of
mercury
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In the western cities of Central America and Mexico we have a
moderate concentrated amount of carbon dioxide.
Both Central America and Mexico do not contribute as much to
Global Warming as other places due to shortage of technology.
In the countryside, ironically the level of carbon dioxide is higher.
There are too many volcanoes located to the eastern portion of both
geographic places, as a matter of fact, all of them are there.
High amounts of both carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
This corrected chart shows carbon dioxide emissions
for Mexico. They are expressed in total metric tons,
metric tons per capita and metric tons per $1,000 of
gross national product.
Country
1988 Total
Per Capita
Emissions/GNP
Ratio
Mexico
306.9
3.7
1.74
Carbon Dioxide emissions chart
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The surface wind speed, zonal and meridional
wind and the surface pressure averaged over
93W - 97W.
◦ Winds tend to blow across the city from the
northeast, where a slight opening in the mountains
allows moisture and winds from the Gulf of Mexico
to enter the basin. These winds blow pollution from
the region of heaviest industrial development
towards downtown and the residential areas
southwest of the city are pressed against the
southern mountain chain.
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Wind patterns tend to vary from cold fronts
to warm fronts.
(Not Miami weather) this means that when it
is summer it is hot, and when it is winter
it’s cold, no variance.
Mostly in all directions, however south of
the equator, wind tends to blow eastward.
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Mexico-The rainy season of the interior Mexico
falls during the Summer. However, since the major
part of the interior is on a high elevation, the
temperature and humidity are fairly moderate.
Central America- this applies too, however certain
differences can be noted; during winter the
humidity levels are extremely high, and on low
elevations it is quite “dry”.
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A)The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and
tropical zones. Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler
temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel,
temperatures are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a function of
elevation.
B) This high-elevation region exhibits a huge difference between Summer
and Winter. Summer generally covers the period from June to October, but it
may rain in the central and southern regions while the north remains
relatively dry. Winter is traditionally the tourist season and December is by
default the busiest month for the big beach resorts.
During Winter, it is not surprising for snow bed to cover the upper regions
from December through February. The temperatures can drop to ten
degrees and highs to sixty degrees. On the
other hand, Summer rim temperatures can be
in the eighties whereas deep in the canyons
it can reach a hundred twenty or higher.
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C) Maritime climates are fairly moderate and
“soothing” during summer seasons and
Continental climates vary, but it is mostly dry
in cities, the countryside is humid, this is due
to humid climates among mountain ranges like
Sierra Madre.
D) Results show a marked seasonal variation of
q (humidity) from around 7·9 g kg-1 during the
dry months to 10 g kg-1 in the wet season
(May-October) on both urban and suburban
sites.
E) Vegetation is diverse due to microclimates
among other factors that are involved.
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Both Central America and Mexico are surrounded
by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean sea.
The Gulf of Mexico is located northeast of Central
America, and east of Mexico
Salinity varies in terms of latitude. The water near
the equator is less salty than that found in the
mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial
precipitation throughout the year. In terms of poles
the temperate latitudes salinity is also low, because
little evaporation of seawater takes place in these
frigid areas.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latest
Crisis/idUSN27394059
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Mexico lies squarely within the hurricane belt, and all regions
of both coasts are susceptible to these storms from June
through November. Hurricanes on the Pacific coast are less
frequent and often less violent than those affecting Mexico's
eastern coastline. Several hurricanes per year strike the
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico coastline, however, and these
storms bring high winds, heavy rain, extensive damage, and
occasional loss of life.
Situated atop three of the large tectonic plates that constitute
the earth's surface, Mexico is one
of the most seismologically active
regions on earth. The motion of
these plates causes earthquakes
and volcanic activity.
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Everything ranging from severe thunderstorms to
major hurricanes and typhoons
Volcanic Eruptions
Earthquakes
Tsunamis (triggered by these earthquakes)
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Desert
Aquatic (in low amounts)
Forests
Grasslands
Tundra
Tropical Rainforest
Both contain all of these, however Mexico does not have
many aquatic biomes
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Population density ranks among the top most
reproductive populations, which amounts to 4.4
people per square smile.
This has lead to exponential growth in terms of
immigration.
Large-scale immigration from Mexico is a very
recent phenomenon. In 1970, the Mexican
immigrant population was less than 800,000,
compared to nearly 8 million in 2000.
In a 2008 study, it was shown that 12.7 million
Mexicans migrated.
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Chapter 19 and 20 PSC1515 Science book
Chapter 24
www.wikipidia.com
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/central_america_1892.jpg
www.britannica.com (encyclopedia)
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.org/6/1249/2006/acp-6-12492006.html
http://www.timetemperature.com/tzmx/mexico_time_zone.shtml
http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_mex.htm
http://www.asp.bnl.gov/MAX-Mex.html
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=30049
http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/mexico/air.htm
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/12453/abstract?CRETRY=1
&SRETRY=0