ABOUT MEXICO

Mexico is a traveler's paradise, crammed with a multitude of opposing identities: desert landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient ruins, teeming industrialized cities, time-warped colonial towns, glitzy resorts, deserted beaches and a world-beating collection of flora and fauna. This mix of modern and traditional, clichéd and surreal, is the key to Mexico's charm, whether your passion is throwing back margaritas, listening to howler monkeys, surfing the Mexican Pipeline, scrambling over Mayan ruins or expanding your collection of posable Day of the Dead skeletons. --LonelyPlanet.com

Mexico is bordered by the United States to the north and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. Mexico is about one-fifth the size of the United States. Baja California in the west is an 800-mile (1,287-km) peninsula and forms the Gulf of California. In the east are the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, which is formed by Mexico's other peninsula, the Yucatán. The center of Mexico is a great, high plateau, open to the north, with mountain chains on the east and west and with ocean-front lowlands lying outside them.
Official name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos Capital:  Mexico City Pop. 19.2 million (Largest City in the Western Hemisphere/2nd Largest City in the World) Land area: 742,485 sq mi (1,923,039 sq km); total area: 761,602 sq mi (1,972,550 sq km) Other large cities: Ecatepec, 1,731,900 (part of Mexico City metro. area); Guadalajara, 1,665,800; Puebla, 1,345,500; Nezahualcóyotl, 1,250,700 (part of Mexico City metro. area); Monterrey, 1,135,000 Population (2007 est.): 108,700,891 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 20.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.4/1000; life expectancy: 75.6; density per sq mi: 146   Monetary unit: Mexican peso Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages Ethnicity/race: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% Literacy rate: 92% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $1.068 trillion; per capita $10,100. Real growth rate: 3%. Inflation: 3.3%. Unemployment: 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25%. Arable land: 13%. Agriculture: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products. Labor force: 43.4 million; agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003). Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism. Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber. Exports: $213.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton. Imports: $223.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts.  Major trading partners: U.S., Canada, Spain, China, Japan (2004).
	At least three great civilizations—the Mayas, the Olmecs, and later the Toltecs—preceded the wealthy Aztec empire, conquered in 1519–1521 by the Spanish under Hernando Cortés. Spain ruled Mexico as part of the viceroyalty of New Spain for the next 300 years until Sept. 16, 1810, when the Mexicans first revolted. They won independence in 1821.
Chichen Itza (pronounced /tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː/)[1]; from Yucatec Maya: chich'en itza', "At the mouth of the well of the Itza") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico.
FLORA & FAUNA
Mexico's biodiversity rivals that of most any country in the world... Mexico’s plant life is very diverse, but generally speaking,  because there is less rain in the north and more in the south, Mexico’s trees and plants can pretty much be divided up along it’s topographical and geographical lines:  desert plants in the north, forests and grasslands in the mountains and altiplano of the center and jungle-type plants and trees in the south. Two deserts cover most of northern Mexico , the Chihuahuan desert, the largest of the North American deserts and the Sonoran desert.  Plants such as the prickly pear cactus, whitethorn acacia, lechugilla, mesquite and creosote cover the Chihuahuan desert.   The Sonoran desert has cactus such as the saguaro, cardon and organ pipe and plants such as the paloverde, ironwood and ocotillo.   In all there are 6,000 species of desert plants, 90% of them endemic (found only here) to the deserts of Mexico and the USA . Central Mexico supports a variety of different trees on its three mountain ranges.  In the higher forests there are more than 50 species of pine plus mahogany, zapote, ceiba, oak and cypress.  Coniferous and broad-leafed trees are found mainly in the states of Chihuahua , Durango , Jalisco, Michoacan , Oaxaca , Chiapas and Guerrero.  In the mid-range forests you can find juniper, pinon pine and evergreen oaks.  On the lowest slopes the forests are found figs, lianas, orchids and bromeliads.  In the central plateaus between the mountain ranges (the altiplano) semi-desert grasslands can be found that in addition to the grasses, support yucca, barrel cactus and sotol. Tropical rainforests are located in the states of Chiapas , Quintana Roo , Yucatan , Campeche , Tabasco and Oaxaca .  These include low jungles of evergreen broadleaf vegetation and tall deciduous forests combined with palms, mangroves and marshes.  The Yucatan also supports tropical savannah with thick grasses interspersed with evergreen trees and shrubs. In addition, wetland habitats exist wherever the terrain meets rivers, seacoasts, lakes or springs.  These are complex areas with diverse flora and have become an important focus of Mexico ’s environmental movement. Mangroves are particularly important. Mangroves are trees adapted to grow in and beyond the edge of salt water.  Their roots form impenetrable barriers that hold silt and provide habitat for fish, birds and crocodiles.
The ubiquitous Mexican Burro	Mammals The majority of Mexico ’s mammals are found in the more temperate zones and include two species of deer, bighorn sheep, coyotes, foxes, bears, mountain lions, jaguars and bobcats, 4 species of rabbits and 350 types of rodents. The tropics are home to animals such as bats, spider and howler monkeys, the silky anteater, coatimundis and the Baird’s tapir, a nocturnal plant-eating animal that spends a lot of its time in water. Almost 30 types of cetaceans live in the seas, ranging from the blue whale, the largest mammal on earth to the 110lb (50kg) vaquita, the smallest porpoise.  Manatees frequent the warm coastal waters and can be found in lagoons and estuaries. Birds Birds in Mexico are a very diverse lot as they are a mix of North American species such as geese and cranes and South American species such as quetzals and toucans.  Out of 9,000 species in the world, 769 of them breed in Mexico and an additional 257 migrate.  The highest number of species can be found in southeastern Mexico and more than 70% of these are found in the tropics.  In marshy areas you can see birds such as kingfishers, herons and egrets.  In the tropical forest you can see 19 species of parrots, parakeets and macaws and 3 species of toucans and in the northern mountains and savannahs you can see hummingbirds and flycatchers and birds of prey such as the crested caracara, hawks and eagles. Reptiles and amphibians More than 1000 reptiles live in Mexico including lizards, iguanas, Gila monsters, alligators, crocodiles and caimans.  There are over 100 species of snakes (20 of which are venomous.) Seven of the eight species of sea turtle can be found in Mexico and all are threatened or endangered.  They are the Kemp’s ridley, the leatherback, the green, the black, the hawksbill, the loggerhead and the olive ridley.