Editing Geography of Mexico (section)

==General indicators==
[[File:Field_near_San_Miguel_de_Allende.jpg|thumb|right|275px|[[Mexican Plateau]] (also known as the Mexican Altiplano or Mesa Central)]]

'''Climate:''' varies from tropical to desert.

'''Terrain:''' high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert.

'''Elevation extremes:'''
*lowest point: [[Laguna Salada (Baja California)|Laguna Salada]] -10 m
*highest point: [[Pico de Orizaba]] volcano 5,700 m

'''Natural resources:''' [[petroleum]], [[silver]], [[copper]], [[gold]], [[lead]], [[zinc]], [[natural gas]] and [[timber]].

'''Land use:'''
*arable land: 12.98%
*permanent crops: 1.36%
*other: 85.66% (2011)

'''Irrigated land:''' 64,600&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (2009)

'''Total renewable water resources:''' 457.2&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup>

'''Natural hazards:'''
[[Image:Map mexico volcanoes.gif|thumb|430px|Major active volcanoes of Mexico. From west to east, volcanoes part of the [[Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]] are [[Nevado de Colima]], [[Parícutin]], [[Popocatépetl]], and [[Pico de Orizaba]].]]

[[Tsunami]]s and [[tropical cyclone]]s along the Pacific coast, [[volcano]]es and destructive [[earthquake]]s in the center and south, and [[hurricane]]s on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts.
<br>''volcanism:'' volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in [[Baja California]] are mostly dormant; [[Colima]] (elev. 3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a "Decade Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; [[Popocatepetl]] (elev. 5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana

'''Environment &ndash; current issues:''' 
Natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; [[deforestation]]; widespread [[erosion]]; [[desertification]]; serious [[air pollution]] in the [[Mexico City|national capital]] and urban centers along the [[US-Mexico border]]; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by [[overdrafting|groundwater depletion]].

'''Environment &ndash; international agreements:''' Party to: [[biodiversity]], climate change, climate change-[[Kyoto Protocol]], desertification, endangered species, hazardous wastes, [[law of the sea]], [[marine dumping]], marine life conservation, lzone layer protection, ship pollution, wetlands, whaling.