Chapter 13 Mexico

6th Grade Social Studies

Section 1: Physical Geography

Section 2: History and Culture

Section 3: Mexico Today

CHAPTER 13

Mexico

Locate

• Gulf of Mexico• Baja California• Gulf of California• Rio Bravo• Mexican Plateau• Mount Orizaba

X

XX

X

X

X

Locate (cont.)

• Sierra Madre Occidental

• Sierra Madre Oriental

States of Mexico

Main Ideas• The major physical features of Mexico

include Baja California, Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Valley of Mexico, mount Orizaba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of California, Rio Bravo.

• The major climate zones of Mexico are steppe, desert, savanna, and humid tropical.

Main Idea (cont.)

• The major climate zones of Mexico are steppe, desert, savanna, and humid tropical.

Vocabulary

• sinkholesA steep-sided depression formed when the roof of a cave collapses

SECTION 1

Physical GeographyThe Physical Geography of MexicoThe Physical Geography of Mexico

LandformsIsthmus of Tehuantepec, Baja California, Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Yucatán Peninsula,

Valley of Mexico

Bodies of WaterRio Bravo, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of California

Resourcesoil, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc

Climates/Animals/Plantsdeserts, steppe, savanna, humid tropical/ cougars, coyotes, deer, anteaters, jaguars, mon-keys, parrots/ desert scrub, rain forests, dry grasslands

MEXICO

Regions of Mexico (6:53)

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Sec 2: History and Culture Objectives

• Identify some early cultures that developed in Mexico.

• Describe what Mexico was like under Spanish rule and after Independence.

• Identify some important features of Mexican culture.

Main Ideas• The Maya’s major achievements included

astronomical calculations, calendar, a writing system, and complex agricultural systems. The Aztec’s built Tenochtitlan, and grew crops on chinampas.

• The effects of Spanish rule on Mexico was a blend of cultures, the spread of Roman Catholicism, mining of gold and silver, and the division of land into haciendas.

Vocabulary

• chinampas(chuh-NAM-puhs) The name the Aztecs gave to raised fields on which they grew crops

• conquistadores(kahn-kees-tuh-DAWR-ez) Spanish conquerors during the era of colonization in the Americas

• epidemicWidespread outbreak, often referring to a disease

Vocabulary (cont.)

• empireA system in which a central power controls a number of territories

• mestizos(me-STEE-zohs) People of mixed European and American Indian ancestry

• mulattoes(muh-LA-tohs) People of mixed European and African ancestry

Vocabulary (cont.)

• missionsSpanish church outposts established during the colonial era, particularly in the Americas

• ejidos(e-HEE-thohs) Lands owned and worked by groups of Mexican Indians

• haciendas(hah-see-EN-duhs) Huge farmlands granted by the Spanish monarch to favored people in Spain’s colonies

History of Mexico(12:25)

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SECTION 2

History and Culture

Colonial Mexico

Colonial Mexico

Spanish, American Indians, and Africans

mixed cultures, Missions established

to spread religion, Ejidos taken away,

replaced by haciendas.

Spanish, American Indians, and Africans

mixed cultures, Missions established

to spread religion, Ejidos taken away,

replaced by haciendas.

After Independence

After Independence

Texas revolts, later joins the United

States; in war over U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico loses land to United States; 1920 revolution changes

government and restores ejidos back

to peasants.

Texas revolts, later joins the United

States; in war over U.S.-Mexico border, Mexico loses land to United States; 1920 revolution changes

government and restores ejidos back

to peasants.

1821 Independence

1821 Independence

Main Ideas

• The three economic problems faced by Mexico include debt to foreign banks, high unemployment, and inflation.

• Greater Mexico City is the most developed and crowded. The Central interior has fertile valleys. The Oil coast is a forested plain with a growing population. Southern Mexico is the poorest region. Northern Mexico is prosperous and modern and the Yucatan is sparsely populated and draws tourism.

Vocabulary

• inflationThe rise in prices that occurs when currency loses its buying power

• cash cropsCrops produced primarily to sell rather than for the farmer to eat

• smogA mixture of smoke, chemicals, and fog

Vocabulary (cont.)

• maquiladoras(mah-kee-lah-DORH-ahs) Foreign-owned factories located along Mexico’s northern border with the United States

• slash-and-burn agricultureA type of agriculture in which forests are cut and burned to clear land for planting

Mexico: Part 1(18:44)

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Mexico: Park 2 (18:06)

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SECTION 3

Mexico Today

ECONOMY—Challengesforeign debts, poverty,

high unemployment, inflation

ECONOMY—Industryoil, mining, manufacturing,

many foreign companies build factories in Mexico

GOVERNMENTelected president and

a congress, Partido Revolucionario Institucional controlled government for

71 years

ECONOMY—Agriculturefarming, coffee,

sugarcane, livestock ranching, cash crops

ECONOMY—Tourismvisit old colonial sites, Maya and

Aztec monuments, coastal resorts

Mexico

Government and Economy of MexicoGovernment and Economy of Mexico

Chapter Wrap-Up

1. What is the Mexican Plateau?2. Why are the coastal plains now more heavily

settled?3. How did European diseases affect the

Indians in Mexico?4. What were the main ethnic divisions in New

Spain?5. How are agriculture and industry in Mexico

and the United States related?

1. What is the Mexican Plateau?2. Why are the coastal plains now more heavily

settled?3. How did European diseases affect the

Indians in Mexico?4. What were the main ethnic divisions in New

Spain?5. How are agriculture and industry in Mexico

and the United States related?

CHAPTER 13

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

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