Here are the most FASCINATING facts I could find about Mexico:
1. Mexico is so huge it’s hard to comprehend. You can fit 30 European countries in Mexico and still have room to spare
Here's another way to look at it: Mexico vs Greenland
(from @neilrkaye)
(from @neilrkaye)
2. As big as it's now, it used to be MUCH bigger
In the 1846-48 war with the US, the US took 55% of Mexico’s land!
In the 1846-48 war with the US, the US took 55% of Mexico’s land!
3. Mexico has by far the most Spanish speakers in the world
4. It's been invaded SIX times through Veracruz
Three of these times, the conquerors reached Mexico City ("CDMX") and subjugated the capital!
Three of these times, the conquerors reached Mexico City ("CDMX") and subjugated the capital!
5. It does not have a single big coastal city!
The biggest one is Acapulco (27th biggest)*
The biggest one is Acapulco (27th biggest)*
6. You can see from space today how much the Spanish cared about silver centuries ago
Notice this line here? It connects CDMX with Zacatecas—where the biggest silver mines were. The Spanish built forts (which would evolve into cities) on the path, to defend the silver convoys
Notice this line here? It connects CDMX with Zacatecas—where the biggest silver mines were. The Spanish built forts (which would evolve into cities) on the path, to defend the silver convoys
7. Mexico is super mountainous! The share of its surface covered by mountains is the same as that of Switzerland and Afghanistan!
8. Mexico has the longest canyon in North America: Copper Canyon. It is deeper and 4x longer than the Grand Canyon of Arizona!
9. The two main Mexican peninsulas are exact opposites of each other.
• Baja California is in the northwest, on the Pacific, and it’s thin, dry, desertic, and mountainous
• The Yucatan is in the southeast, on the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s bulky, humid, jungly, and flat
• Baja California is in the northwest, on the Pacific, and it’s thin, dry, desertic, and mountainous
• The Yucatan is in the southeast, on the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s bulky, humid, jungly, and flat
10. Despite all this humidity, there are no rivers in all of the Yucatan! So natives took water from its cenotes, big holes in the ground full of freshwater
11. And if you look at the cenotes on a map, you’ll notice they follow an arc. Does that look familiar? Yes, it has the same shape and age as the Chicxulub crater, from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago!
VIDEO
12. The world’s two longest underwater cave systems are in Mexico: Sac Actun and Ox Bel Ha, both in the Yucatan Peninsula
13. Mexico’s southern border has so many mountains and jungles, making it impassable, that it only has 6 border crossings for over 1,000 km of border
That’s 3x fewer border crossings than in the desertic Mexico-US border and 10x fewer than France-Germany
That’s 3x fewer border crossings than in the desertic Mexico-US border and 10x fewer than France-Germany
14. The biggest pyramid in the world is in Mexico!
The Cholula Pyramid is the biggest in terms of volume
The Cholula Pyramid is the biggest in terms of volume
15. Tenochtitlan was one of the 5 biggest cities in the world back then. Today, CDMX has 25M ppl. It’s the biggest metro area in North America. The heartland, with 70 million ppl, is 35% bigger than the US Northwest metro area that extends from Boston to Washington DC.
16. The largest Day of the Dead Parade in the world takes place in Ciudad de Mexico, attended by over one million people, but it started less than 10 years ago, inspired by the James Bond movie Spectre
17. CDMX is sinking between 25 cm and half a meter per year! (10 to 20 inches)
Some historic buildings have sunk below street level!
Some historic buildings have sunk below street level!
18. Mexicans are some of the hardest working people in the world—and the hardest working in the OECD.
More facts, details, and sources in this week's article
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