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Climate and Geography
The basic geographical features of Mexico are familiar. Bounded in the west by the Pacific Ocean, in the east by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the wide north borders the American states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California while the narrow south borders Belize and Guatemala, leading to Central America. In the far west, we find the long, thin Baja California peninsula, tracking the mainland coast as far south as Mazatlán, opposite the southern tip of the peninsula.
Most northerners are aware of these features, along with the palm-lined beaches for which Mexico is justly famous. However, there is also a great diversity in Mexico’s geography. The north and Baja California tend to be desert country, while the south is tropical and subtropical. Certain areas of the deep south of Mexico, like the state of Chiapas, contain tropical jungle and rainforests. Running in a horseshoe shape, roughly tracking the Pacific and Gulf coastlines, the Sierra Madre mountains rise in three branches above Mexico’s two coasts. The west branch, the Sierra Madre Occidental, runs from the deep north to the southern Pacific, where the Sierra Madre del Sur takes over, running from southeast to southwest Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, where the third mountain range, the Sierra Madre Oriental meets it, and continues north along the Caribbean. The mountains contain a fascinating diversity of plant and animal life, including pine and oak forests. Cradled between the Sierra Madre ranges in the southern central part of the country, one finds the great colonial cities of Mexico’s high altitude heartland, such as Mexico City, Puebla, Morelia, Guadalajara, and Cuernavaca. Here, one also finds the charming colonial gems, smaller cities such as San Miguel de Allende, Taxco, and Guanajuato.
Mexico contains a wide array of ecosystems and topographies, from tropical jungle, to desert, to rainforest, to mountain highlands. It is arguably a country of more diverse natural life than any other country on Earth. Mexico’s beaches, of course, are the main draw for many tourists. For hundreds of miles along the Baja, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, vacationers flock to try their hand at surfing, parasailing, kayaking, diving, fishing, snorkeling, and other water sports. Beach areas such as the island of Cozumel, off the Yucatan peninsula in the southeast, contain fascinating, colorful, world-famous dive spots, while the surfing near Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas, and San Jose del Cabo, in Baja California) draws surfers from around the world.
Some areas of Mexico can be quite humid, while other areas can have high temperatures ranging to perhaps 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius) but with arid comfortable conditions. Certain inland cities such as Guanajuato, Morelia and San Miguel de Allende are cooler. Rainforest locales like those found in the southern part of Mexico are warmer and more humid and the Mayan peninsula offers some very hot locales cooled with stunning and refreshing sea breezes. For the most part, Mexico has remarkably pleasant temperatures, ranging from lows of perhaps 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 16 degrees Celsius) to highs of around 85 or 86 degrees Fahrenheit (29 or 30 degrees Celsius). For those wishing to get out of the cold of Canada, or some states in the north, Midwest, or east of the United States, Mexico’s climate can be among its most attractive attributes.