August 2010 – Geo-Mexico, the geography of Mexico

The distinctive sounds of Mexico’s towns and cities

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Aug 312010

Geographers have long been interested in the distinctive contribution of sounds to landscapes, especially urban landscapes. Some sounds are associated with pleasure, some with danger, others with impatience. The soundscapes of cities have become a legitimate area of study.

Early work tended to focus on traffic noise or on identifying areas where ambient noise from industry or other activities exceeded a comfortable threshold volume.

Soundscapes vary from rural areas to urban areas, and from one region to another. Mexico’s urban soundscapes are among the most distinctive on the planet, and this week has been declared National Sound Week by the federal government. Several “sound walks” have been organized in major cities.

As a USA Today article points out, all sounds contain a message. For example, “A series of four notes on a pan flute means the scissor-sharpening man is in the neighborhood. A ringing hand bell means the garbage truck is here” and so on.

The traffic whistles made by police are an important subset of the sounds in any Mexican town or city. They have a mini-language of their own, explored in this MexConnect article: Did you know? Different traffic whistles in Mexico mean different things.

Fieldwork idea: Portable sound meters make it relatively easy to compile a map showing the sound levels (measured in decibels) around particular sources of sound, whether periodic in occurrence (such as vehicles at a traffic light or the crowd in a sports stadium) or more or less continuous (like the hum of wind turbines or the noise of a factory).

Once a map has been compiled, analyze any patterns you can identify. Studies of urban soundscapes are not only of academic value, but have an important role in city planning as well. For example,

Do tall buildings mask the loudest sounds, or do they funnel it towards the listener?
Does the sound level vary depending on the quantity of vegetation between the sound source and the listener?
Which kinds of vegetation are most effective in masking sounds?
Is east-west traffic louder than north-south traffic?

The energy efficiency of farming in Mexico and elsewhere

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Aug 302010

Corn is one of the world’s major cereal crops and has long been a vitally-important crop to Mexico.

However, is it more efficient in energy terms to be a slash-and-burn farmer of corn in the jungle or a technologically-sophisticated corn farmer on the US or Canadian prairies?

David and Marcia Pimentel have compiled data from a variety of sources and analyzed this question and similar questions in some detail.

In Mexico, they calculated that about 1144 hours of human labor are required to produce 1 hectare (ha) of corn using only hand labor, and no animals or machinery. On the other hand, using machinery, cultivating a hectare of corn requires only 10 hours of labor in the USA.

The total energy required to cultivate a single hectare of corn by hand is 589,160 kcal for the 1144 hours of hand labor, plus 16,570 kcal for making the axe and hoe used by the farmer (this figure assumes a certain lifespan and maintenance needs for such tools), plus 36,608 kcal for the 10.4 kg of seed required. The grand total for energy inputs into the system is 642,336 kcal. [One kcal (kilocalorie) = 4184 joules.]

An average yield for corn in such a non-mechanized system is 1,944 kg/ha, equivalent to 6,901,200 kcal. The ratio between the energy output and the energy expended of this system is almost 11:1.

By way of comparison, the energy inputs (labor, machinery, gasoline, seeds, irrigation, herbicides, etc) in a typical, highly mechanized US or Canadian cornfield total 10,535,000 kcal/ha. The yield of corn is about 7,500 kg/ha, equivalent to 26,625,000 kcal. The energy ratio for this farming system is 2.5:1

Horse-drawn plough, Creel, Chihuahua, 1980

More efficient than a tractor?

Which system is more efficient? This is where it becomes essential to define what is meant by efficiency. In terms of output per hour of labor, the US farm is far more efficient. In terms of yield per hectare, the US farm is more efficient. However, in terms of energy ratios, the Mexican farm is four times more efficient than its US counterpart.

Looking at energy ratios makes it possible to make various generalizations about farming. In general, hand cultivation methods are the most energy efficient, followed by systems where animals are used, followed by systems based largely on machinery. The precise numbers for any type of farming will vary from one country to another, since the labor required and crop yields do depend to some extent on such geographic factors as soil types, terrain and the weather during the growing season.

It is also possible to look at what the additional energy inputs in a highly mechanized system actually achieve. For instance, in the USA, machinery and fuel account for about 20% of all the fossil energy employed; in other words, about 20% of the energy input reduces, or replaces, human and animal labor. The remaining 80% of fossil fuel inputs is employed in increasing corn yields by means of fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and irrigation.

The table shows the energy ratios which have been calculated for a selection of crops in various countries.

Type of farming	Location	Energy ratio (output/input)
Cassava	Tanzania	23.0
Corn (human power)	Mexico	10.7
Corn (human power)	Guatemala	4,8
Corn (oxen power)	Guatemala	3.1
Corn (oxen power)	Mexico	4.3
Corn (animal power)	Philippines	5.1
Corn (mechanized)	USA	2.5
Wheat (bullock power)	Uttar Pradesh, India	1.0
Wheat	USA	2.0
Rice (human power)	Borneo	7.0
Rice (mechanized)	Japan	3.0
Rice	California	2.0
Sorghum (human power)	Sudan	14.0
Sorghum	USA	2.0
Soybeans	USA	4.0
Oranges	Florida, USA	2.0
Apples	Eastern USA	1.0
Potatoes	New York state, USA	1.2
Potatoes	UK	1.5
Tomatoes	California	0.6
Spinach	USA	0.2
Eggs, battery	UK	0.15
Catfish	Louisiana, USA	0.03
Shrimp	Thailand	0.01
Oysters	Hawaii	0.01
Winter lettuce (glasshouse)	UK	0.0023
All agriculture, 1952	UK	0.47
All agriculture, 1968	UK	0.35

An energy ratio below 1.0 for a particular item means that the inputs of energy exceed the output, or in other words more energy is expended on cultivation than is returned via the crop.

As Tim Bayliss-Smith concludes in the The ecology of agricultural systems, the evidence is that, “Only in fully industrialized societies does the use of energy become so profligate that very little more energy is gained from agriculture than is expended in its production.”

Why are energy ratios important?

Energy ratios shed some light on the sustainability of farming. Cultivation relying only on human power, is clearly sustainable virtually indefinitely, provided that land degradation is avoided and yields do not decline. Farming using a mix of animal and human power is also likely to be fully sustainable. However, the same is not true for cultivation relying on power derived from fossil fuels. For mechanized farming, sustainability requires machinery to be powered by renewable sources of energy, such as solar or wind power. Such sources of energy may be impossible to harness in some climatic zones.

Of course, farm systems are not only about energy flows and ratios. As Tim Bayliss-Smith points out, farms ”also provide jobs, incomes and a way of life for agrarian societies, whose social and ideological characteristics cannot be ignored.”

Sources / further reading:

Pimentel, David and Pimentel, Marcia H. Food, energy and society (3rd edition) CRC Press, 2008
Bayliss-Smith, T.P. The ecology of agricultural systems. Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Simmons, I.G. “Ecological-Functional Approaches to Agriculture in Geographical Contexts”, in Geography, 65: 305-316 (Nov. 1980)

Agriculture is analyzed in chapter 15 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. and concepts of sustainability are explored in chapters 19 and 30. Buy your copy today, so you have this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography available whenever you need it.

Mexico’s Copper Canyon is one of the world’s most amazing natural wonders

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Aug 282010

The Copper Canyon, one of Mexico’s most amazing natural wonders The rugged ranges of the Western Sierra Madre in the state of Chihuahua conceal several massive canyons, giving rise to incomparable scenery. The Copper Canyon (Cañon del Cobre) region is the collective name given to this branching network of canyons, larger in many respects (see table) than the USA’s Grand Canyon.

How does Mexico’s Copper Canyon compare to the US Grand Canyon?

	Urique Canyons	US Grand Canyon
Total length of rivers (km)	540	446
Depth (m)	1250–1870	1480
Altitude of rim (m above sea level)	2250–2540	2000–2760
Maximum width (km)	4	15

Strictly speaking, the name Copper Canyon refers only to one small part of the extensive network of canyons which is more properly called by geographers the Urique Canyon system. As the table shows, the Urique Canyons are longer, deeper and narrower than their US rival.

How was the Copper Canyon formed?

According to a local Tarahumara Indian legend, the canyons were formed when “a giant walked around and the ground cracked.” Geologists believe that a sequence of volcanic rocks varying in age from 30 to 135 million years were slowly uplifted to an average elevation of 2275 m (7500 ft) and then dissected by pre-existing rivers.

These antecedent rivers retained their courses, cutting down over 1400 m into the plateau surface, forming deep canyons and dividing the former continuous plateau into separate giant blocks. Centuries of erosion by the Urique river and its tributaries have resulted in the present-day landscape of structurally-guided plateau remnants, termed mesas, buttes and pinnacles, depending on their size.

Mexico’s top 10 agriculture-related exports

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Aug 262010

The table shows the top 10 exports relating to food and drink.

Rank	Product	Annual exports (approx., US$ millions)
1	Beer	1,800
2	Tomatoes	1,100
3	Tequila & Mezcal	740
4	Bell peppers	610
5	Avocados	600
6	Coffee	325
7	Onions	280
8	Pork	270
9	Limes & lemons	260
10	Watermelon	210

The actual value of exports for each product varies widely from year to year. The figures quoted in the table are an average of the last few years for which data are available. They underestimate the importance of strawberries, exports of which have risen sharply since 2004. In the past couple of years, exports of strawberries have exceeded watermelon in value.

How many countries have featured tomatoes on a stamp?

Small wonder that the “Mexico exports” set of stamps in use from the 1970s to the 1990s featured many agricultural products in its designs, including tomatoes (pictured here), tequila, beer, coffee, honey, strawberries, limes, cotton and citrus fruits. We plan to look more closely at some of these items in future posts.

Agriculture is analyzed in chapter 15 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Mexico’s exports are examined in chapter 20. Buy your copy today, so you have this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography available whenever you need it.

Over half a million natives of the state of Puebla live in New York City

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Aug 252010

The New York City area is now home to over half a million poblanos, natives of the Mexican state of Puebla. A 2005 Smithsonian article by Jonathan Kandell (available here as a pdf file) takes a close look at their expectations and aspirations. Most started as undocumented workers, but many have gained legal status through the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (ICRA) or a variety of other means.

The story of Ricardo and Aldea is just one example. They got to New York by crossing the 49^o C (120^o F) Sonoran Desert in the summer of 2003. They work 70-hour weeks for less than the minimum wage. She will pay for her month long trip back to Puebla by serving as a courier, or paquetera, a person who carries clothing, electronics, and other gifts from immigrants to their families.

Getting back and forth across the border without proper documents is more difficult than it used to be, but is not a significant problem. Most rely on trusted polleros, often called coyotes, who provide border crossing service for fees ranging from a few hundred dollars for just crossing the border to a few thousand dollars for door-to-door service.

Population pyramid for Piaxtla, 2000. How does this pyramid reflect out-migration?

Migration has had a profound impact on villages in Puebla, such as Piaxtla. Most of the 1600 current residents of Piaxtla are either children or elderly (see population pyramid). The mayor claims that “maybe three out of four of my constituents live in New York”. The hundreds of millions of dollars send back each year are having a dramatic effect on rural communities in Puebla. Forty years ago, virtually all the houses were made of palm-thatch adobe. Now they are mostly brick and concrete. Many are topped with satellite dishes.

The towns also have new restaurants, taxis, video arcades, cybercafes, and newly paved streets, all made possible from remittances. Ironically, the towns are sparsely populated and many of the new houses are empty because their owners are working in New York.

Most youth consider the prospect of migration. Few think about careers in Mexico or becoming artisans and continuing Puebla’s long tradition of ceramics, woodworking and weaving. Teenagers show little interest in corn farming, the traditional mainstay of the local economy. In short, migrating to jobs in New York has become the norm.

Somewhat similar migration channels link:

For previous posts about remittances, the funds sent home by migrant workers, see:

Migration between Mexico and the USA is the focus of chapter 25 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Mexico’s top 13 natural wonders

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Aug 242010

According to the 1.5 million votes cast in a Televisión Azteca survey in 2007 (published in the always interesting glossy magazine mexicanísimo), the top 13 natural wonders in Mexico are (in no particular order):

The Copper Canyon region (Chihuahua)
The El Cielo Biosphere Reserve (Sierra Madre Occidental, Tamaulipas)
The Sumidero Canyon (Chiapas)
Cuatro Ciénegas oasis (Chihuahuan desert)
El Arrecifal coral reef ecological park (Veracruz)
El Pinacate desert (Sonora)
The Monarch Butterfly reserves (Michoacán)
The agave landscapes surrounding Tequila (Jalisco)
The Centla wetlands (Tabasco)
The Peña de Bernal monolith (Querétaro)
The Basalt Prisms of San Miguel Regla (Hidalgo)
The Sótano de las Golondrinas sinkhole (San Luis Potosí)
Xel-Há marine park (Quintana Roo)

Tarahumar woman and child, by waterfall in the Copper Canyon

Also ranked highly were

Cerro de la Silla (Nuevo León)
Estero de Palo Verde (Colima)
Loltún caverns (Yucatán)
Mexcaltitán Island (Nayarit)

We will describe each of these geographical treasures in more detail in future posts.

How many of these places have you visited?

What other places do you think should be on this list?

If you have enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico.

Buy your copy today!

Mexico’s long connection with the Philippines – exploration, seafaring and geopolitics

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Aug 232010

In 1559, King Philip II of Spain ordered a fleet to be prepared to sail west from New Spain (Mexico) to the Philippines. Barra de Navidad, on the shores of Jalisco, was one of the centers of New Spain’s maritime activity at the time. It offered a sandy beach in a well-protected bay; with tall forests inland to provide the necessary timber. Barra de Navidad echoed to the sounds of hammering and sawing, as the Spanish fleet was readied.

Mexican postage stamp commemorates 400 years of Mexico-Philippines friendship

Mexican postage stamp commemorating 400 years of Mexico-Philippines friendship

All western Mexico was mobilized to support the venture. Roads were built to ferry supplies from the city of Guadalajara to the Barra de Navidad boatyards. To this day, the main Guadalajara-Barra de Navidad road is known as The Philippines Way. Food, planks, sails and rigging – all had to be acquired and transported to the port. Every village had to support the effort, which was not without its dangers. For example, the Indians from Ameca complained of “many killed in the transport of rigging to Puerto de la Navidad where they are building boats to go to China.”

The expedition finally set sail at 3:00am on 21 November 1564, marking the start of more than 400 years of friendly contact between Mexico and the Philippines.

The expedition’s commander, López de Legazpi, fearing a mutiny, did not reveal their true destination to his sailors until the boats were well under way; no previous expedition had ever managed to find its way back across the Pacific Ocean. The expedition landed in the Philippines in March 1565. López de Legazpi remained there, putting his 17-year-old grandson in charge of finding the way back. In one of the most amazing feats of sailing of all time, his grandson was successful, but when the expedition reached Acapulco in October the crew was too exhausted to drop anchor. The return voyage had cost more than 350,000 gold pesos, and is commemorated today by a simple monument in Barra de Navidad’s small plaza.

The map on the stamp issued in 1964 to celebrate 400 years of friendship between Mexico and Philippines shows the expedition’s routes across the Pacific. The southern line marks the outward route, the northern line the route home.

The Spanish authorities quickly decided that bringing Asian goods from their colony in the Philippines back to Spain by crossing the Pacific, transshipping the cargo across Mexico and then sailing from Veracruz to Spain was preferable (more secure) to any alternative. Barra de Navidad soon became a regular port-of-call for Spanish sailors plying the so-called China route between Acapulco and Manila. To enable easier communication between Mexico City and Acapulco, a Camino Real (Royal Road) for pack mules was built between Mexico City and Acapulco. (A road suitable for wheeled vehicles between these cities was not completed until well into the 20th century.)

Demonstrating strong complementarity, for 250 years Spanish galleons carried Mexican silver to Manila and returned with spices, silk, porcelain, lacquer ware and other exotic goods from the Orient. These “China galleons” displaced 2000 tons and were the largest seafaring vessels of their time in the world.

But the lure of easy treasure drew pirates such as Englishman Francis Drake. In 1579, Drake sacked the small port of Huatulco, now a premier multi-million dollar tourist resort in the state of Oaxaca, and attacked the Manila galleon off the coast of California, exposing the vulnerability of Spanish sea traffic. For the next forty years, all the west coast ports, including Barra de Navidad, saw more pirates and corsairs than was good for them. Then, slowly but surely, the center of colonial operations moved further north into Sinaloa and Baja California.

Related Post

Cultural exchanges between Mexico and the Philippines

The development and characteristics of Mexico’s transportation network are analyzed in chapter 17 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Buy your copy of this invaluable reference guide today!

Avocado farms in the Mexican state of Michaocán replace forest

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Aug 212010

Mexico is the world leader for avocado growing, accounting for almost 35% of global production. Other important avocado producers include the USA and Indonesia (each with 7% of the world total), Colombia (6%), Brazil (5%) and Peru (4%).

In Mexico, avocado production is heavily concentrated in the state of Michoacán. The main areas of avocado orchards are near the cities of Uruapan and Tacámbaro. The annual harvest of avocados is now worth about 800 million dollars, and has increased extremely rapidly in the past decade. The total annual production of Mexico’s 21,000 avocado growers has risen to 1.2 million tons.

The map shows the four main avocado-growing states. Michoacán accounts for 92% (by value) of all the avocados produced each year, followed by Morelos (2.5%), the State of México (1.3%) and Nayarit (0.7%).

The Hass variety grown in Mexico fruits twice each year. The main harvest periods are January to April, and July to September. The average yield in Mexico is about 10.6 tons/ha. This compares with yields of 14 tons/ha on the Caribbean island of Guadalupe, 13.4 tons/has in the Dominican Republic, 13.1 tons/ha in Israel, 10 tons/ha in Cuba, 11.1 tons/ha in Colombia and 9.2 tons/ha in the USA.

Area of avocado cultivation in Mexico (thousands of hectares). The green line is area under cultivation; the yellow line is area harvested.

Currently, Michoacan has more than 120,000 hectares dedicated to avocado production, compared to only 90,000 hectares seven years ago. About half the area is irrigated. US trade restrictions limiting avocado imports from Mexico were lifted in 2005, and exports have climbed to more than 300,000 tons a year.

This extraordinarily rapid increase in land area devoted to avocados, known locally as “green gold”, has come at the expense of natural forest. The rate of deforestation has prompted environmentalists to demand that state and federal environmental authorities regulate further land clearance. Environmental agencies have now agreed that is essential to regulate deforestation for avocado production in order to avoid further environmental damage.

Farming in Mexico, including avocado growing, is analyzed in chapter 15 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

The 10 least populous states in Mexico

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Aug 192010

The table shows the 10 states in Mexico which have the fewest inhabitants.

Rank	State	Population (2005)	Population (2010 census)
1	Baja California Sur	512,170	637,065
2	Colima	567,996	650,129
3	Campeche	754,730	822,001
4	Nayarit	949,684	1,084,957
5	Tlaxcala	1,068,207	1,169,825
6	Aguascalientes	1,065,416	1,184,924
7	Quintana Roo	1,135,309	1,324,257
8	Zacatecas	1,367,692	1,490,550
9	Durango	1,509,117	1,632,860
10	Querétaro	1,598,139	1,827,985

The smallest states in Mexico (by population). Click to enlarge. All; rights reserved

(a) Can you suggest any characteristics which many of these small states might share? (not counting, obviously, their small population!)

(b) What implications might a relatively small population have for a state, and for its economy and administration?

(c) What geographic and historical factors might help to explain why some states have only a relatively small population?

(d) Which two states exchanged their rank positions between 2005 and 2010? Can you suggest why this might have occurred?

Several chapters of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. discuss population issues, including population distribution and population density. Buy your copy today to have a handy reference guide to all major aspects of Mexico’s geography!

The connection between Napizaro (Michoacan) and North Hollywood (California)

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Aug 182010

People in the small village of Napizaro near Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán are very familiar with North Hollywood, California, which is over 2400 km (1500 miles) away. Almost everyone born in Napizaro now over 20 years old is living, or has lived, in North Hollywood, which is home to at least one member of virtually every family in Napizaro.

Map showing location of Napizaro, Michoacan

Map showing location of Napizaro on Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Click to enlarge.

Initially, a few migrants from Napizaro found good jobs in North Hollywood. Through letters, phone calls and visits home, they told their friends and relatives in Napizaro and new migrants headed north. Movement between the places increased significantly. The majority of young boys and many young girls look forward to the day when they can travel to North Hollywood and start making real money. Many of the migrants from Napizaro moved their immediate families and settled permanently in North Hollywood.

Remittances sent back from workers in North Hollywood have had a big impact on Napizaro. The village has numerous impressive brick homes, with cars parked in the driveways and satellite TV dishes on the roofs. The newly built bull ring is named “North Hollywood.”

This is another example of a migration channel linking two rather distant places. There are numerous migration channels between specific towns in Mexico and particular places in the USA.

Another migration channel links Aguililla, Michoacán, and Redwood City, California

For previous posts about remittances, the funds sent home by migrant workers, see:

Migration between Mexico and the USA is the focus of chapter 25 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

The revitalization of Mexico City’s historic downtown core.

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Aug 172010

The Historic Center of Mexico City was originally founded in 1524 atop the Aztec capital of Tenochititlan. The Historic Center declined considerably during the 20th century. The government froze rents in the 1940s and they stayed frozen until 1998. With constant inflation, the real price of rents declined to almost nothing.

Without meaningful rental incomes, landlords abandoned or stopped maintaining their properties. Buildings and neighborhoods decayed. Once-fancy communities became slums. Many wealthy and middle class residents as well as commercial establishments moved out to suburbs. The National University (UNAM) moved to a new purpose-built campus in the south.

The tragic earthquakes in September 1985, the first measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, hit many badly maintained downtown areas particularly hard. More and more residential buildings were abandoned as insecurity, pollution and decay set in, aided and abetted by the sinking ground levels due to aquifer depletion.

At the start of the 21st century, a government-private sector Historic Center Trust was formed to buy and systematically rehabilitate dozens of centuries-old buildings and breathe new life into the city center. Investment in the revitalization effort was over $500 million and has created 15,000 new jobs.

Drainage and water systems were replaced. Electric and telephone cables were buried below ground. The facades of more than 500 buildings on 13 streets were carefully restored. Streets were repaved and pedestrianized. Plazas came back to life; new museums sprung up; street vendors were relocated. Cafes and restaurants opened, giving new focal points for residents and tourists alike.

If you have enjoyed this brief excerpt from chapter 23 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico please consider purchasing your own copy of the book. Chapters 21 and 22 analyze Mexico’s 500-year transition to an urban society and the internal geography of Mexico’s cities. Chapter 23 looks at urban issues, problems and trends. To preview more parts of the book, click here and use amazon.com’s “Look Inside” feature

Fascinating new book about the Colorado River

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Aug 162010

The Río Colorado formed a vast delta in the otherwise arid Sonoran desert in northern Mexico where it enters the Sea of Cortés (Gulf of California, see map.) The delta wetlands created ideal conditions for a rich variety of wildlife. The river enters Mexico at the Southerly International Boundary where a gauging station records the river’s discharge. This river is one of the most altered river systems in the world.

The amount of water reaching Mexico has declined dramatically as a result of the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams and other diversions of Colorado River water in the USA. The few years of higher flows in the 1980s coincide with flood releases from US dams when they had been filled by heavy rains.

The river’s drastically reduced annual discharge violates a 1944 treaty under which the USA guaranteed that at least 1750 million cubic meters would enter Mexico each year via the Morelos diversionary dam in the Mexicali Valley. The Río Colorado wetlands have been reduced to about 5% of their original extent, and the potential water supply for the rapidly-growing urban centers of Mexicali, Tijuana, Tecate and Rosarito has been compromised.

The map and description above come from Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico.

If you are interested in learning more about this river, a great place to start is the recently published book about the Colorado River called Running Dry: A Journey From Source to Sea Down the Colorado River (Jonathan Waterman; National Geographic Books, 2010). Waterman hiked and paddled the length of the river from the Rocky Mountain National Park to its delta in the state of Baja California, Mexico.

For excerpts from the book, see Running Dry on the Colorado and Mighty Colorado River dribbles through Mexico.

Peter McBride, a photographer, accompanied Waterman on his two year trek. His evocative photographs will appear in the book The Colorado River: Flowing Through Conflict (Westcliffe Publishers), due out in September. See Down the Colorado (slideshow) for some examples of his Colorado River photos.

Rivers, reservoirs and water-related issues are discussed in chapters 6 and 7 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Geo-Mexico is reader-supported. Purchases made via links on our site may, at no cost to you, earn us an affiliate commission. Learn more.

The 11 states in Mexico with the oldest population

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Aug 142010

The table shows the eleven states in Mexico which have the oldest population (defined by average age of the population).

Rank	State	Average age (years)
1	Federal District	30.0
2	Veracruz	28.4
3=	Nayarit	28.0
3=	Nueva León	28.0
5	Yucatán	27.6
6=	Zacatecas	27.4
6=	Colima	27.4
6=	Hidalgo	27.4
6=	Morelos	27.4
6=	Sonora	27.4
6=	Tamaulipas	27.4

Map of states with the oldest population

(a) What factors might explain why the inhabitants of some states in Mexico have a high average age than others? What might these 11 states have in common?

Hint: Do not just think about why some states might have many elderly people, but also why some states might have relatively few young children

You might also like to compare this map with a map of the states which have the youngest average age.

Several chapters of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. discuss population issues, including the age of the population. Buy your copy today to have a handy reference guide to all major aspects of Mexico’s geography!

Migration channels between Mexico and the USA, or how distant towns are linked through migration

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Aug 132010

The municipality of Aguililla, Michoacán, is closely linked to Redwood City, California, over 2900 kilometers (1800 miles) away. Redwood City has about 37,000 Latino residents, perhaps half of which were originally from Aguililla. There are almost as many Aguilillans in Redwood City as there is in the municipality of Aguililla, which has about 25,000 residents. Aguililla and Redwood City are officially “Sister Cities”.

Coat-of-arms of Aguililla, Michoacán, clearly showing the road out...

How did this linkage form? Under the Bracero program many workers from Aguililla got temporary visas to work in California’s San Joaquin and Salinas valleys. Since agricultural work was seasonal, the immigrants looked for more permanent employment.

A number found jobs in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco. Word spread to Aguililla relatives and friends in the Bracero program. They headed for Redwood City where they got assistance in finding jobs and homes from earlier Aguilillan migrants. Many returned to their hometown and soon everyone in Aguililla learned about the good jobs and good life in Redwood City.

Before long there was a significant stream of workers leaving Aguililla headed for Redwood City. Many early migrants became permanent and moved their families. But they retained their ties to Aguililla and made return trips from time to time so their children could learn their roots and see their grandparents. The remittances sent back from workers in Redwood City have been important to the Aguilillan economy for over 60 years.

This is an example of a migration channel which links two rather distant places. There are numerous migration channels between specific towns in Mexico and particular places in the USA. We look at other examples in other posts.

The principle of distance decay suggests that the strength of links between settlements is usually inversely proportional to the distance between them (places close together, strong links; places further apart, weaker links). Migration channels cause anomalies in this pattern, since they often lead to strong spatial interactions which do not match those expected from distance decay.

For previous posts about remittances, the funds sent home by migrant workers, see:

Highway improvement revolutionized the economy of Chilapa, Guerrero

Excerpts from Geo-Mexico Comments Off

Aug 112010

Transportation improvements can have profound impacts on the areas they serve. A major highway improvement in the 1970s revolutionized the rural economy of Chilapa, a small town about 40 km east of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero. Prior to 1970, the area was essentially self-sufficient, as it had been for hundreds of years. All the corn and most of food consumed in Chilapa came via pack animals from farms within 12 km of the town. It did produce some cotton shawls (rebozos) and later woven palm goods which were sold to obtain money for salt, iron, cotton, matches and other essentials not produced locally.

In the 1970s, the old narrow windy road to Chilpancingo was upgraded to a national highway (No. 92), straightened and paved, dramatically reducing transport time and costs. This had a dramatic impact on Chilapa. Corn and other goods from the rest of Mexico and abroad poured into the area, leading to significantly lower prices. The local farmers could not compete; many stopped farming altogether. Some started commuting by bus to low paying jobs in Chilpancingo. When subsidies became available for chemical fertilizers and hybrid corn, farmers began producing high quality corn that was sold outside the area. Chilapa continued importing cheap, low quality corn for local consumption. The new road completely changed the economy of the area around Chilapa, brought it farther into the national economy and improved its standard of living. There are thousands of communities in Mexico that are not yet served by paved roads and are essentially as self-sufficient and poor as Chilapa was before the 1970s. In addition, there are hundreds of other communities not reached even by dirt roads; they are even poorer and more self-sufficient.

Note: the main source for material about Chilapa is Kyle, C. 1997 “Transport and Communication” 1910-96, in Werner, M.S. (ed) Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture. Chicago, Fitzroy Dearborn.

The development of transportation systems in Mexico is the focus of chapter 17 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico.

Air quality improving in Mexico City but not in Monterrey

Mexico's geography in the Press, Other Comments Off

Aug 102010

A recent short piece in The Economist, “A breath of fresh air” (31 July 2010) echoes Geo-Mexico’s contention that air quality has been improving in Mexico City in recent years, but declining in other large cities, especially Monterrey.

The improving air quality in Mexico City is attributed to:

relocation of heavy industry away from the city
closure of the Azcapotzalco oil refinery (1991); part of this area is now a public park
vehicle emissions standards, and enforcement
“Día sin coche” (Day without a car) policy for all but the newest vehicles
improvements to public transport, such as introducing Metrobus; starting in 2011, taxi owners have incentives to use hybrid or electric vehicles
on-going, effective monitoring of air quality since the mid 1980s

The IMECA scale for urban air quality

Air quality still exceeds environmental norms in Mexico City many days each year, but far fewer than during the late 1980s and early 1990s when air pollution was at its peak. Even low-level ozone measurements are showing improvement. Ironically, ozone in the lower atmosphere rose immediately after the introduction of a new unleaded gasoline, designed to ensure that the major source of brain-damaging lead pollution was removed. The new gasoline, it emerged, simply traded one serious pollutant for another.

Latest pollution values for Mexico City.

Mexico’s other big cities still face enormous challenges with regards to air pollution. Monterrey’s air regularly has very high concentrations of microparticulates (PM10); the levels now exceed Mexico City’s peak readings from twenty years ago. The air in Guadalajara is improving, but not as rapidly as in Mexico City.

Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico examines the trends in air quality (ozone, microparticulates and carbon monoxide) for Mexico’s three largest cities and also asks whether the air pollution from maquiladora plants in Ciudad Juárez raises public health issues.

Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Previous post on this topic: Mexico City air quality continues to improve

The US Bracero guest worker program

Excerpts from Geo-Mexico 2 Responses »

Aug 092010

The Bracero program started in 1942 as a way to alleviate the severe US labor shortage during the second world war. It gave selected Mexicans renewable six-month visas to work temporarily on US farms. Most workers came from Michoacán, Jalisco, and Guanajuato. Many US farmers became very dependent on the productive and relatively cheap Mexican labor.

Many Mexican workers also entered the USA without visas and easily found well-paying jobs in agriculture and other sectors. Numerous US industries began to depend on these undocumented workers. The US government and public accepted this reality; they were preoccupied fighting a war.

The Bracero Program was considered such a success that it continued long after the war ended. It was finally repealed in 1964, largely as a result of pressure from labor unions, who felt it held down farm wages, and Latino groups which felt it impeded the upward mobility of US Hispanics.

An estimated 4.5 million Mexican Bracero workers legally entered the USA between 1942 and 1964. At its height in the late 1950s, more than 500,000 workers migrated each year. Most were temporary migrants who returned to Mexico within a year. Migration to the USA became an integral part of the socio-economic fabric of many rural communities in west central Mexico. In many cases, families and villages became trans-national. Workers divided their time between work in the USA and their families in Mexico.

The Bracero program set the stage for the continued high volume of Mexican labor migration to the USA. Closure of the Bracero program had minimal impact on migration, which continued to grow steadily through the 1960’s and 1970’s before accelerating rapidly after 1980.

For more information about the Bracero program: The Bracero Archive

For previous posts about remittances, the funds sent home by migrant workers, see:

Copper products, exports and handicrafts in Mexico

Other 2 Responses »

Aug 072010

The copper industry in Mexico embraces two extremes: from a major Mexican multinational, Grupo México, to hundreds of dedicated, but poorly remunerated coppersmiths living in a small town in Michoacán.

Large-scale copper mining in Mexico

Grupo México is the largest mining corporation in Mexico, and the world’s third largest copper producer. The company has faced a series of financial and labor issues over the years, which have sometimes restricted its output. It operates two major mines in Mexico, both in the northern part of the state of Sonora:

Cananea – this mine, which dates back to 1899, produced 163,804 tons of copper in 2006. It has some of the largest reserves in the world.
La Caridad – proven reserves of 600 million metric tons.

Grupo Peñoles started extracting copper from the Milpillas copper deposit, also in Sonora, in 2006. Copper miens in Sonora account for 83% of national output. Other states where copper is mined include:

Zacatecas (6%), where copper is one of several metals obtained from Industrial Minera México’s mine at Sombrerete
Chihuahua (4%), where copper is mined at Santa Bárbara and Naica.
San Luis Potosí (6%), where copper comes from the polymetallic mine of Charcas (also Industrial Minera México)
minor amounts are also obtained in Durango, Hidalgo, Michoacán, the State of México and Sinaloa.

335,000 tons of copper were mined in 2007

Santa Clara del Cobre

The artisans of Santa Clara del Cobre are justly world-famous for their coppersmithing skills.

A great time to visit the town, one of Mexico’s Magical Towns, is during the annual Copper Fair. The XLV National Copper Fair and LXV Hammered Copper Competition run from 7-17 August 2010. The competition offers 89 prizes with a total prize fund of 414,000 pesos (33,000 dollars).

How did Santa Clara, in Michoacán, come to be associated with copper working?

In pre-colonial times, local Indians mined for copper in various regions of Mexico including the state of Michoacan in Central Mexico, where the local P’urhepecha Indian group produced magnificent copper, gold and silver jewelry. They also made copper handaxes, used as currency throughout MesoAmerica.

In 1538, the Spanish missionary, Vasco de Quiroga, the first Bishop of Michoacan, helped develop local crafts. To avoid competition between villages, he encouraged each village to specialize in a particular craft. Coppersmithing was the craft allocated to Santa Clara (now Santa Clara del Cobre).

Santa Clara became the most prominent copper-producing town in colonial New Spain. During the 17th century, the town was the main source for hand-hammered copper kettles.In the 20th century, when demand for these collapsed, the townspeople, supported by government programs, started making a variety of other objects.

A National Copper Fair was started, and state-sponsored coppersmithing competitions began. Santa Clara de Cobre has a museum dedicated to copper working, where many of the prize-winning entries from previous years are displayed.

Further artistic and commercial impetus to Santa Clara copper came in the 1970s from American James Metcalf and his Mexican wife Ana Pellicer. Metcalf created the Olympic torch for the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.

While most copper pieces are designed to be utilitarian, the number of decorative items has increased in recent decades, with many items incorporating other metals, stone and ceramics. Many of the workshops continue to employ traditional techniques; a single hand-crafted piece may take an entire month to make.

The economy of coppersmithing

About 82% of households in Santa Clara depend on copper working for their livelihood. The town has more than 300 workshops. Between them, they transform 450 tons of copper a year. In an average year, sales of copper items reach about 4 million dollars.

Smelting the copper in colonial times required large quantities of charcoal. Charcoal production contributed greatly to the region’s deforestation.

The industry depends on recycled copper wire and cable, which in some years includes imports from the USA. One of the great ironies of this is that American tourists now visit Santa Clara to buy back (admittedly at a much higher price and in a more artistic form) the same copper they once threw away.

When electricity was first brought to Santa Clara, it is said that the electric company had a hard time keeping the lines functioning as they were often stolen to be hammered into copper posts and pans for the next market day.

Curiosity

Perhaps Santa Clara’s most famous son is J. Jesús Pérez Gaona, better known as “Pito Pérez”. Born in 1867, he began studying to be a priest, but never completed his studies. He then became a clerk, a drunkard and—mainly—a wonderful dreamer. He was immortalized in Rubén Romero’s great work, “La vida inútil de Pito Pérez” (The useless life of Pito Pérez), later turned into a movie.

Mexico’s mining sector is analyzed in chapter15 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Buy your copy of this invaluable reference guide today!

Is Mexico City sprawl a sign of a future megalopolis?

Excerpts from Geo-Mexico, Maps 4 Responses »

Aug 062010

The rapid spatial expansion of Mexico City is not slowing down in the 21st century but accelerating. The main stimulus of this sprawl is income growth, which leads to widespread ownership of private automobiles and the desire of Mexican families to own homes. The number of automobiles in Metropolitan Mexico City (ZMCM) is approaching 10 million, almost double the number in 2000. Most households have access to a private car, many have several cars. Automobiles are responsible for nearly half of all trips. While the 2008–2009 economic downturn dramatically reduced new car purchases, the market has picked up significantly in 2010.

New suburban residential developments for all income levels now stretch up to 40 km from the Zócalo (the main plaza in Mexico City’s center). Some developers sell undeveloped lots; others build family homes. Most of these new developments are in gated communities and are focused on car-owning buyers.

A case can be made that Mexico City is beginning to merge with surrounding urban areas (see map) into a “super city” or megalopolis, with a total population of about 30 million.

The eastern border of the Toluca Metropolitan Area (population 1.6 million) is the Federal District. The Cuernavaca urban area (population 788,000) is only about 20 minutes south by toll road. The western edge of Metropolitan Puebla-Tlaxcala (population 2.1 million) is only about 30 minutes from the eastern edge of Greater Mexico City. Pachuca (population 278,000) is only about 30 minutes north.

A megalopolis is one possible future scenario for Mexico City.

The 11 states in Mexico with the youngest population

Maps, Teaching ideas Comments Off

Aug 052010

The table and map show the eleven states in Mexico which have the youngest population (defined by average age of the population).

Rank	State	Average age (years)
1	Quintana Roo	22.3
2	Chiapas	24.2
3	Baja California	24.9
4	Querétaro	25.7
5=	State of México	25.9
5=	Aguascalientes	25.9
7=	Guerrero	26.0
7=	Baja California Sur	26.0
9=	Tabasco	26.3
9=	Puebla	26.3
9=	Chihuahua	26.3

The states with the youngest average age

This map does not appear to reveal any obvious spatial pattern. What do these 11 states have in common, apart from (presumably) a high percentage of young people?

(a) Can you suggest what circumstances (or combination of circumstances) might result in a state having a relatively young population?

(b) Find a table or map showing the birth rates in each state. Is there any similarity between that information and this map of states with the youngest population?

(c) Find a table or map showing which states have experienced the fastest rates of in-migration because their economies have grown rapidly in the past 30 or 40 years. Is there any similarity between that information and this map of states with the youngest population?

El Camino Real or Royal Road, the spine of the colonial road system in New Spain (Mexico)

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Aug 042010

By the start of the 16th century, the Aztec Empire had a well developed system of “roads”. However the Aztecs had neither wheels nor beasts of burden to transport themselves or their goods. Obviously this limited transportation to the speed, range and endurance of foot power. Their system of roads was essentially a system of foot trails.

The Spanish conquistadors found the Aztec roads completely unsuitable for horse traffic and animal-drawn carts. They were forced to undertake expensive re-routing, flattening, widening, and upgrading. In 1550, they started construction of the first section of El Camino Real (the royal highway) linking Mexico City with Spain through the port of Veracruz. The opening of this new road greatly facilitated communication and the transfer of Aztec gold to Spain, and Spanish goods to Mexico’s interior. To counter the threat of bandits, the road was constantly patrolled by soldiers.

Towns along this route gained new importance. Puebla become the second largest and most important city in New Spain, a position it was to hold for 300 years. In the late 1550s, the road was extended north to Zacatecas, to facilitate transporting gold and silver from that area back to Mexico City and then on to Spain.

El Camino Real was later extended to other important cities and mining districts. By 1600 it reached as far north as Chihuahua and was later extended to Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico). Many other roads were added to the system to facilitate administration, communication and economic exploitation.

In 1565, the Spanish decided it was safer to ship Asian goods from their colony in the Philippines back to Spain by crossing the Pacific, transshipping the cargo across the breadth of Mexico, and then sailing from Veracruz to Spain. To support this, the El Camino Real was expanded to link Mexico City to Acapulco. This section was only serviceable for pack mules; a road suitable for wheeled vehicles was not completed until well into the 20^th century.

For 250 years, Spanish galleons carried Mexican silver to Manila, and returned with spices, silk, porcelain, lacquer ware, and other exotic oriental goods destined for Spain.

The development of Mexico’s transportation system is discussed in chapter 17 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Bringing place names to life in Mexico City

Books and resources Comments Off

Aug 022010

I love gifts, especially books, and especially when they are related to the geography of Mexico!

So, it was a doubly pleasant surprise recently to receive a copy of Glifos de la ciudad de México by Pablo Moctezuma Barragán (Gobierno del Distrito Federal, 2006; 103 pp.)

The author is an accomplished researcher, historian and politician who holds a teaching position at the Azcapotzalco campus of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and who spearheaded a campaign in Mexico City to bring the meanings of place names to life.

Atocpan = "On fertile soil"

The project involved the installation around the city in 2006 of more than 300 works of art, all using traditional Talavera tiles, depicting pre-Hispanic glyphs, together with a brief explanation of their derivation and meaning. Each mosaic of 25 tiles measures one meter by one meter. The vast majority of the glyphs are depicted as they are known in ancient codices or other historic sources, but in a few cases, glyphs have been specially created, faithfully reflecting the ancient principles. Glifos de la Ciudad de México is a handy pocket guide to these glyphs.

The obligatory introductory statements by politicians are mercifully brief, though significantly for us, they do refer to the fact that many names depend on a circunstancia geográfica (a geographical circumstance) or are related to activities undertaken by the early settlers or to characteristic plants or animals. How encouraging to see such a tribute to geography!

Next comes a very interesting essay by Pablo Moctezuma Barragán, setting the scene for the full color illustrations of hundreds of glyphs which follow. The author discusses the origins of place name glyphs (the oldest date back 2500 years), and emphasizes that many reflect the importance of local geographic conditions. The forces of globalization may be at work in what is arguably the world’s largest city, but “It is important to rescue our roots”, argues Moctezuma Barragán, “We should not live like foreigners in our own land”.

He goes on to summarize the Nahuatl roots of many of the names and gives a potted history of the development of Mexico City.

Tile mosaic depicting glyph of Texcoco ("in the place where plants grow on rocks") on a wall in Mexico City. Credit: Glifos de la ciudad de México.

All the glyphs refer to names used somewhere in the city and many photographs show the commemorative tiled versions in situ in the city. In all, 322 glyphs were installed, and more than 220 of them are included in this book.

This is but one example of the many projects undertaken by Mexico City authorities in recent years to beautify the city.

What a neat idea, to introduce people, even as they go about their daily lives, to pre-Hispanic symbolism as it relates to local place names. These tiled works of art are a great way to encourage a sense of place and identity. They are not only beautiful, they serve to foment local pride. Geography is alive and well in Mexico City!

Related website.

Several hundred ancient glyphs, from Antonio Peñafiel’s 1885 “Nombres Geográficos de México,” can be viewed online as part of the Aztec Place Name Glyphs Project of the Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

Previous posts about Mexico’s place names: