The state of Veracruz, Mexico

Veracruz is a 745 km coast in length with a width that goes from 156 km in the center to 47 km in the north. The state has large mountains, forests, plains, rivers, cascades, lagoons and coasts. Veracruz is the 10th largest state in Mexico with a 72,420 km2 surface, it is located between 17°00' and 22°28' north latitude and between 93°95' and 98°38' west longitude. Because of the orographic effect, the Sierra Madre Oriental causes the existence of many types of climate, from dry to tropical forest, going through snow on the top of the Pico de Orizaba (5747m of altitude). The wind affects the coasts by not allowing to fish during a hundred days a year (particularly in winter), and on summer tropical waves and occasionally hurricanes affect rivers causing overflow and urban floods in fields. These phenomena do not have a regular affectation; they are subject to climate variability effects. Veracruz is the third state with most population in the country (7.1 million people in 2005), only surpassed by the state of Mexico and Mexico City. Although it occupies 3.7% of the national territory, Veracruz has 6.9% of human population in the country, and is the 6th state of PIB national contribution (240 thousands of millions pesos approximately).

Source: GC22A-02 Global Climate Change Reports. www.agu.org/meetings
Authors Tejeda, A and Ochoa, C. The Veracruzana University, Xalapa, Veracruz. Mexico.

clic to enlarge image

Satellite image shows the Eastern Sierra Madre. The neovolcanic axis extending towards the Gulf of Mexico can be clearly seen. This forms a bottle neck between the seashore and the mountains that originated the greatest raptors flight corridor and passerine birds in the world.

“Raptors Migration Flight Ways in the American Continent and phisiography of map of Mexico showing the bottle neck of the bird migration corridor north of Veracruz.