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Mexico

explanatory Essay
3987 words
3987 words
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Mexico

Southward from its 1,500 mile long border with the United States lies

the Estados Unidos Mexicanos. A country with slightly more than 750,000 square

miles in area, Mexico has a vast array of mineral resources, limited

agricultural land, and a rapidly growing population. These factors are the basis

for many of the country's present problems as well as opportunities for future

development. The nation is struggling to modernize its economy. With more than

80 million people in the mid-1980s, Mexico's overall population density exceeds

110 per square mile. More than half of its inhabitants live in the country's

central core, while the arid north and the tropical south are sparsely settled.

The stereotype of Mexico is that it is a country with a population

consisting mainly of subsistence farmers has little validity. Petroleum and

tourism dominate the economy, and industrialization is increasing in many parts

of the nation. Internal migration from the countryside has caused urban centers

to grow dramatically: more than two thirds of all Mexicans now live in cities.

Mexico City, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 16 million

people, is the largest city in the world. While still low by United States

standards, the nation's gross national product per capita rose significantly

during the 1970s. Despite impressive social and economic gains, since 1981

Mexico has been wracked by severe inflation and an enormous foreign debt brought

on in large part by precipitous declines in the value of petroleum products.

Geologically, Mexico is located in one of the Earth's most dynamic areas.

It is a part of the "Ring of Fire," a region around the Pacific Ocean

highlighted by active volcanism and frequent seismic activity. Within the

context of plate tectonics, a theory developed to explain the creation of major

landform features around the world, Mexico is situated on the western, or

leading, edge of the huge North American Plate. Its interaction with the Pacific,

Cocos, and Caribbean plates has given rise over geologic time to the Earth-

building processes that created most of Mexico. Towering peaks, like

Citlaltepetl at some 18,000 feet, are extremely young in geologic terms and are

examples of the volcanic forces that built much of central Mexico. The

spectacular eruption of the volcano Chinchon in 1981 w...

... middle of paper ...

...ch of central and southern Mexico

and had established their capital at Tula in the Mesa Central. They also built

the city of Teotihuacan near present-day Mexico City. At about the same time,

the Zapotecs controlled the Oaxaca Valley and parts of the Southern Highlands.

The cities they built at Mitla and Monte Alban remain, though they were taken

over by the Mixtecs prior to the arrival of the Spanish.

When the Spanish arrived in central Mexico, the Aztecs controlled most

of the Mesa Central through a state tribute system that extracted taxes and

political servility from conquered tribal groups. The Aztecs migrated into the

Mesa Central from the north and fulfilled a tribal prophesy by establishing a

city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This became the

national symbol of Mexico and adorns the country's flag and official seal. The

Aztecs founded the city of Tenochtitlan in the early 1300s, and it became the

capital of their empire. The Tlaxcalans to the east, the Tarascans on the west,

and the Chichimecs in the north were outside the Aztec domain and frequently

warred with them. The nation's name derives from the Aztecs' war god, Mexitli.

In this essay, the author

  • Explains that it is part of the "ring of fire," a region around the pacific ocean.
  • Explains that mount st. helens in the united states a year earlier led to widespread widespread publicity.
  • Explains that many of the basins were sites of major importance in the mesa.
  • Opines that to the south of tampico it is narrow and irregular.
  • Describes mesa central's southern portion and dammed where it crosses.
  • Explains that the grijalva is the main river system, which drains a large part of the region.
  • Explains that the rio de janeiro is the major river in this part of the nation.
  • States that more than half of mexico lies south of the tropic of cancer.
  • Describes tierra fria's temperature and yearly range.
  • Explains the annual temperature of 58 f and a yearly range of just 10 f. above the tierra.
  • Explains that at the time of european arrival in the early 1500s, the country was inhabited by europeans.
  • Explains that the new world from asia some 40,000 to 60,000 years earlier by crossing a former
  • Explains that in 1960 there were more than 34 million people. the number had increased to only 20 million.
  • Explains that at the end of 1986 it was estimated that it surpassed 80 million.
  • Explains that the gulf coastal plain has about 18 percent of the population.
  • Explains how the transition from rural areas and small towns to cities began in the 1950s.
  • Analyzes how mexican cities have grown at a rate, with 50,000 inhabitants or more.
  • Describes the shrine of the virgin of guadalupe, which is a holy site for the country's romans.
  • Explains that in 1981, the gdp increased by 7.9 percent.
  • Estimates that no more than 20 percent of the land is used for any kind of production.
  • Explains that 10 to 12 percent of the country's area is planted to crops annually.
  • Estimates that nearly two thirds of the country was covered by forests.
  • Explains that san luis potosi was an eastern outpost on the mesa del norte.
  • Opines that shrimp are now the most productive of the late 1950s, with 40,000 tons of shrimp.
  • Explains that the nation is one of the first in latin america to develop railway lines.
  • Narrates how an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on cactus in the city where it became the 'city'.
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