6.2 Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

Notes

• Mexico: capital Mexico City, built on the site of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. A federal republic with a high central plateau, deserts in the north and rainforest in the south. The Yucatán Peninsula was home to the Maya.
• Central America has seven countries: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Belize uses English as its official language. Many volcanoes and earthquakes occur there.
• The Caribbean is a chain of islands: the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) and the Lesser Antilles. Cuba is the largest island. Hispaniola is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
• Warm waters bring hurricanes each year; tourism is a major industry.