Lesson 49:
Physical Geography of Mexico
Wewill use theactivitymaponpage99 to locateand label thebodiesof water and landforms that
make up the physical geography of Mexico.
Waterforms
ACTIVITY 1:
Letters have been used to identify the bodies of water that border Mexico and the sources of major
rivers found in the interior of Mexico. A) Find each of the letters below on your physical activity map.
B) If the letter represents a river, traceand label the river.C)Other waterforms, suchas oceans, seas,
gulfs, and bays only need to be labeled. D) Use your political/physical map of Middle America in the
AtlasBuddy (AB)
on page xi aswell as a classroom atlas as reference.
Bodies ofWater that BorderMexico:
River Systems:
Letter A =PacificOcean
Letter F =ConchosRiver
Letter B =CaribbeanSea
LetterG =PanucoRiver
Letter C =Gulf of Mexico
Letter H =Rio de las Balsas
Letter D =Gulf of California
Letter I =RioGrande
Letter E =Bay of Campeche
Letter J =RioGrande deSantiago
Landforms
ACTIVITY 2:
There are a variety of landforms that make up the six major geographical
regions inMexico.Label thephysical activitymapwith the regionsand land-
forms that are
boldfaced
below. You may use your maps of Middle
America in the
AtlasBuddy (AB)
on page xi or your classroom atlas.
1. The
Baja California Peninsula Region
is separated from the
mainland of Mexico by theGulf of California.
2. The
PacificCoastal Region
is a narrow coastal plain that borders the
PacificOcean fromBajaCalifornia to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
3. The
Sonoran Desert
is located inland of the Pacific Coastal Plain in
northwesternMexico.
4. The
Central Plateau Region
is the heart of Mexico and the largest
land region. Many of Mexico’s large cities, including Mexico City, are
located on the Central Plateau. It runs from the volcanic mountains in
the south to the border of theUnitedStates.
5. The
SierraMadreMountainRegion
forms a giant Umade up of two
mountain ranges that surroundMexico’s Central Plateau. The eastern
range is called the
SierraMadreOriental
.Thewestern range is called
the
SierraMadreOccidental
.A group of high volcanicmountains, with active volcanoes, connects
the eastern andwesternSierraMadre ranges at the southern edge of theCentral Plateau.
COPYRIGHT
97
PENNSVALLEY
The
lowest
area inMexico, at 33
feet below sea level,
is near the city of
Mexicali in the
northern part of the
Baja Peninsula.
Mexico
