Geography of Mexico | |
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Topographic map of Mexico
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Area | |
Total | 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi) |
Land | 1,923,040 km2 (742,490 sq mi) |
Water | 49,510 km2 (19,120 sq mi) |
Coordinates | 23°00′N 102°00′W / 23.000°N 102.000°WCoordinates: 23°00′N 102°00′W / 23.000°N 102.000°W |
Borders | |
United States | 3,141 km (1,952 mi) |
Guatemala | 871 km (541 mi) |
Belize | 251 km (156 mi) |
Coastlines | 9,330 km (5,800 mi) |
Maritime claims | |
Contiguous zone | 24 nautical miles (44.4 km; 27.6 mi) |
Economic zone | 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) |
Territorial sea | 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) |
The geography of Mexico describes the geographic features of Mexico, a country in the Americas. Mexico is located at about 23° N and 102° W in the southern portion of North America. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over 3,200 km (2,000 mi) in length. Mexico is bounded to the north by the United States (specifically, from west to east, by California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico, and to the southeast by Belize, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. The northernmost constituent of Latin America, it is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico is three times the size of Texas.
Almost all of Mexico is on the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California Peninsula in the northwest on the Pacific and Cocos Plates. Some geographers include the portion east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec including the Yucatán Peninsula within North America. This portion includes Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán, representing 12.1 percent of the country's total area. Alternatively, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt may be said to delimit the region physiographically on the north. Geopolitically, Mexico is generally not considered part of Central America. Politically, Mexico is divided into thirty-one states and a federal district, which serves as the national capital.