TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 NATURAL WONDERS 4 Chapter 2 ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS Chapter 3 A NEW NATION Chapter 4 TRADITIONS AND CULTURE Chapter 5 DAILY LIFE Glossary Index About the Author 8 16 22 26 30 31
4 CHAPTER 1 NATURAL WONDERS 7,000 miles of coastline Mexico is With famous worldwide for the tropical beauty of its beaches But Mexico's rich biodiversity offers more than just sun sand and surf High desert in the north fertile plateaus in the central valleys as well as rainforest mountains canyons and even a few volcanoes combine to create habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal life making Mexico truly a land of natural wonders
NATURAL WONDERS 1 Mexico is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world It is home to 26,000 species of plants 1,200 kinds of reptiles over one thousand species of birds and about 500 species of mammals including of course the jaguar 2 One of the most amazing species of reptile in Mexico is the collared lizard Named for the two black stripes around its neck this quick little lizard uses its tail for balance and can run on two legs like an Olympic sprinter 3 The huge asteroid that is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago struck the Earth in Mexico specifically near the current town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula THAT CAN'T BE GOOD BOOM 5
