• Journey Mexico : Experiences : Canyons, Mountains and Volcanoes

Canyons, Mountains and Volcanoes

While many people know Mexico for its beaches, the geography of this immense country is as diverse as it is beautiful.  From rugged mountains and rumbling volcanoes to sprawling canyons, the topography of Mexico rivals that of its Central and South American neighbors. Mexico’s dominant geographic feature is the great highland central plateau, which extends from the border with the United States to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It averages 1,219 m (4,000 ft) in elevation in the north to over 2,438 m (8,000 ft) in the central part of the country. The plateau is enclosed by two high mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east and the Sierra Madre Occidental on the west, each separated from the coast by lowland plains. The ranges rise to over 3,000 m (10,000 ft), and some volcanic peaks exceed 5,000 m (16,400 ft); Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltépetl (5,700 m/18,702 ft), Popocatépetl (5,452 m/17,887 ft), and Ixtaccíhuatl (5,286 m/17,342 ft) are the highest.  Along with the volcanoes peaks, the topography plummets into deep and voluminous canyons through out the Northern part of the country.  The network of Canyons known as the Copper Canyon is 4 times the volume of its better known northern neighbor, the Grand Canyon.