México

OFFICIAL NAME: United Mexican States

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic of federated states

CAPITAL: Mexico City

POPULATION: 125,959,205

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish

MONEY: Peso

AREA: 758,449 square miles (1,964,375 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Sierra Madre

MAJOR RIVERS: Rio Grande, Yaqui

Mexico is a land of extremes, with high mountains and deep canyons in the center of the country, sweeping deserts in the north, and dense rain forests in the south and east.

Mexico is the product of a rich Native American heritage, three centuries of Spanish rule, and a shared border with the world's richest country, the United States. Today, many Mexicans are mestizos, which means they have a mix of Native American and Spanish blood.

In northern Mexico, deserts are full of plant and animal species that have found ways to survive the harsh environment. On Mexico's west coast, gray whales swim thousands of miles each year from Alaska to breed in the waters off Baja California.