In this post, we consider the unfortunate plight of the Tohono O’odham people, whose ancestral lands now lie on either side of the Mexico-USA border. How did this happen? Following Mexico’s War of Independence (1810-1821), the rush was on to draw an accurate map of all of Mexico’s territory. Mexico’s boundaries following independence were very […]
Welcome to our sixth quiz about the geography of Mexico. Previous quizzes: How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 1 How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 2 How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 3 How well do you know Mexico? The […]
Production of gold has more than tripled from the 23.5 metric tons recorded in 2000 to 88.6 metric tons in 2012, 3.2% of world production, 5.3% more than the previous year, and the ninth consecutive year-on-year increase. Analysts believe that gold production will double again between now and 2020. Mexico is the world’s 11th largest […]
Prior to European contact in 1519, what did the Aztec people eat? The basis of Aztec diet was corn (maize). They cultivated numerous varieties of corn, as well as many other crops including beans, amaranth and squash. Some dishes were seasoned with salt and chili peppers. This mix of items provided a balanced diet that […]
By way of contrast to the much-criticized, and now collapsed, Maya Biosana chocolate project, the Tikul Plantation, near Merida (Yucatán), is a well thought out cacao-growing project, with an educational component, being carried out by people who have decades of real experience with cacao. (Follow the link for a series of photos which gives a […]
As the US Congress debates new immigration reform legislation there is considerable confusion concerning the fiscal impact of immigrants. One side argues that immigrants pay relatively little in taxes and absorb costly benefits in terms of public health, education, welfare, etc. Others note that immigrants often pay significant amounts in taxes and get little back […]
Following our critique of the Maya Biosana chocolate megaproject (Maya Biosana or Maya Bio-Insana? Chocolate megaproject in Quintana Roo), a project which claimed it would plant four million cacao plants in four years, we have received additional information about developments in the Los Divorciados ejido where the project is based. According to an insider, the […]
Kantar Worldpanel México’s survey of shopping habits for 8,500 homes across the country reveals that 70% of household expenditures are spent in one of three main “purchasing channels”. 1. The first, traditional convenience or “corner” stores receive 35% of household spending, and are the channel most frequently visited, 217 times/year/household on average. Poorer households rely […]
The city of Fresnillo, founded in the sixteenth century, is a place that most people speed by en route to somewhere else. Yet Fresnillo, in the state of Zacatecas, holds several surprises. It was once an important city on the colonial silver route (El Camino Real or Royal Road, the spine of the colonial road […]
Several developments connected to public transportation are an integral part of Acapulco’s ongoing efforts to modernize and rejuvenate itself as a tourist destination. ACAbús Acapulco city authorities have been working hard to complete a new public rapid transit system called ACAbús in time for the next influx of sun-seeking winter tourists. The system represents an […]
What exactly is globalization? Globalization can be defined in simple terms as “the process by which events, activities and decisions in one part of the world can have significant consequences for communities in distant parts of the globe.” [Peter Haggett in his Geography (A Global Synthesis), Pearson Education Limited, 2001]. Though globalization began centuries ago […]
Homicide rates in Mexico increased between 2010 and 2012, though there is some evidence that they are now beginning to fall again. Did the pattern of homicide rates also change since 2010? The top map shows the pattern of intentional homicides in Mexico in 2010. As we commented at the time, this map shows “that […]
Climatologists have developed several scientific systems to classify climates. The system developed by Wladimir Köppen in the early 20th century is one of the earliest and best known. The Köppen climate classification system assumes that climate is best reflected in native vegetation and can be accurately classified using seasonal variations in temperatures and precipitation. Mexican […]
How does Mexico compare with the world’s most populous countries? Available information suggests that in 1500, before the Spaniards arrived, the population of the area that is now Mexico was roughly 15 to 20 million (McCaa 1997). At that time Mexico may have been the third most populous country behind only China and India. However, […]
The National Statistics Institute (INEGI) recently published state-by-state intentional homicide (murder) statistics for 2012. The values calculated by INEGI for rates/100,000 population rely on CONAPO’s estimates for the population each year. The INEGI report includes homicide trends from 1990 to 2012. From 1992 to about 2007, homicide rates in Mexico declined (see graphic) to 8/100,000 […]
Butler’s resort cycle model applied to Acapulco Butler’s model (see graphic below) describes the evolution of a tourist resort. His model, similar to a product life cycle model, is quite a good fit with the evolution of Acapulco, a traditional resort which evolved over several decades. The model would not be expected to work as […]
A recent study published by the Clean Air Institute analyzed air pollution in 22 Latin American cities: Air Quality in Latin America: An Overview (May 2013; pdf file) Six Mexican cities were included in the study: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Ciudad Juárez and León. However, only limited data were available for Puebla, Cd. Juárez […]
It currently takes about 5 hours to drive from the city of Durango to the Pacific coast resort of Mazatlán, but this time will be slashed to under 3 hours once the new 1.2-billion-dollar, 4-lane, 230-kilometer highway between the cities is complete. The Baluarte Bridge is already in place and was officially opened in January […]
Acapulco was Mexico’s first major resort. Overlooking the Pacific, Acapulco had been fashionable among wealthy Mexicans since the 1920s. The first road from Mexico City to Acapulco opened in 1927; this became a four-lane highway in the 1955 and is now a toll super-highway. The development of Acapulco during the 1940s and 1950s, with new […]
Welcome to our fifth quiz about the geography of Mexico. Previous quizzes: How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 1 How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 2 How well do you know Mexico? The geography of Mexico: Quiz 3 How well do you know Mexico? The […]
While generally referred to in English as the Tarahumara, the people’s own name for themselves is “Raramuri“, literally “the light‑footed ones” or “footrunners”. The Tarahumara live in the Copper Canyon region of Mexico and are renowned for their long distance running exploits across some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain. As “modern” life encroaches on […]
The map below shows a regional division of Mexico by precipitation regime (the amount and seasonal distribution of precipitation). The small graph for each region shows the typical average precipitation amounts for each month of the year. (For example, region A has most precipitation in the first three or four months of the year, and […]
The three basic types of rainfall (convectional, orographic and cyclonic) all play a role in determining the amount and timing of precipitation in Mexico. Why does it rain? In Mexico, most precipitation falls as rain, though snowfalls are not uncommon in parts of northern Mexico or at the highest elevations where air temperatures are cooler. […]
More than a year ago, the World Trade Organization (WTO) sided with Mexico and appeared to finally bring to an end a long-running dispute between Mexico and the USA over “dolphin-safe” tuna. The WTO decision confirmed that the methods used by Mexico’s tuna fishing fleet met the highest international standards, not only for protecting dolphins […]
The population of Mexican origin in the USA now totals more than 33.7 million, including 11.2 million born in Mexico and 22.3 million who identify themselves as being of Mexican origin. Mexicans account for 64% of all Hispanics in the USA and 11% of the country’s total population.The changing profile of Mexicans living in the […]
Mexico is home to six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles, all of which are on the international Red List of endangered or critically endangered species. Participants at last month’s meeting of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), have elected Mexico to preside over the organization for […]
This 30-second video update on the eruption of Popocatepetl Volcano speaks for itself. Webcams have made the life of armchair geologists (even those of us who quite like exploring volcanic craters, provided the volcano in question is extinct or at least dormant) a whole lot easier! The alert level remains at Yellow Phase 3, the […]
There is still lots of work needed to fully unravel the geological secrets of Mexico’s Volcanic Axis which crosses the country between latitudes 19̊ and 21̊ North. Unlike most volcanic belts elsewhere in the world, this one does not appear at first sight to correspond to any plate boundary. Another of the mysteries of this […]
Popocatepetl Volcano (“Don Goyo” to the people living in its shadow) continues to erupt. On 4 July, several airlines, including American Airlines, US Airways, Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines suspended operations to and from Mexico City for several hours, resulting in numerous cancelled flights. Mexico’s National Disaster Center (Cenapred) provides daily updates (in both English and […]
This post presents a short case study of the dramatic ecocide in the Hurtado Reservoir in Jalisco a week ago that resulted in the sudden death of between 200 and 500 tons of fish. What? The ecocide killed between 200 and 500 tons of fish 30 local residents were affected by gastrointestinal problems 15 of […]