[Mexico].

the city of El Paso is a bridge  spanning the Rio Grande River part of the geographical boundary  between the United States and Mexico a customs officer at the border checks people and  cars as they leave one country and enter the other if we were entering Mexico  we'd find much to see and learn we might begin our trip by  looking at a map of Mexico we see first a land of many mountains a  great range runs along Mexico on the west a smaller range is on the east the mountains are  only one of the many kinds of regions in Mexico generally speaking there are three main regions  the northern Plateau with scattered muttons the high volcanic mountainous Central  plateau and the coastal lowlands many of Mexico's important cities are located  on the Northern plateau on the road to Chihuahua about 100 miles South of the Border we'll find  parts of the northern Plateau that look like this in many ways the region resembles  the southwestern United States these are Mexican Vaqueros or Cowboys what can we learn about the climate  and activities by looking about us we see scattered vegetation which grows here  even though skies are clear and there is little rain in this part of Mexico yet this land  and climate are suitable for raising cattle cattle ranching is an important activity  in this part of the northern plateau The Vaqueros Drive the cattle to rail sightings  where they are shipped to the large cities of northern Mexico such as Torreon one of the  centers of Mexico's growing meat packing industry southeast of Chihuahua besides being a meat packing Setter  torion is also a city of other Industries here wheat is milled into flour and cotton  is woven into textiles in addition to its Industries torion is an agricultural community  the city is built in the midst of desert lands but outside it are tilled fields on which Farmers  produce Alfalfa as well as cotton wheat and corn a special kind of farming has created fertile  fields in the midst of the desert around Torreon you may have seen this kind of farming in  other dry places it's called irrigation farming yet we see that the fields near Torreon  are right in the midst of a desert where is the source of water for irrigation the  skies are clear there's very little rainfall here as in most of northern Mexico remember though we  discovered that Mexico was a land of mountains could some mountains be a source of water yes  streams formed from the summer rains high in the mountains west of Torreon provide much of  the water used to irrigate the fields we saw irrigation has made torion one of the richest  agricultural communities of northern Mexico another large North Mexican  Community is the city of Monterrey Monterey about 200 miles east of Torreon  is the largest city of the northern plateau most of the people of industrial Monterey work in  large Mills and factories Monterey is often called the Pittsburgh of Mexico it is the chief city of  Mexico steel industry there are other important industries in this city this is a factory  where shortening is made from vegetable fats quite different from the modern manufacturing city  of Monterrey is the old town of Zacatecas also located in northern Mexico the town was once  one of the great mining centers of the world this historic mine has been producing  silver since Spanish colonial times today modern mines in the states of Chihuahua  and Zacatecas produce much of Mexico's metallic wealth and many men are employed in this  industry Mexico produces metal ores such as lead zinc copper and gold and is the  world's Chief producer of visor silver in Spanish colonial times Silver and Gold Bars were taken from Zacatecas to Mexico  City across the high Central plateau let's look at this volcanic mountainous  Plateau region of Central Mexico rich in farmlands and dotted with many villages this part of the central Plateau is  sometimes called the heart of Mexico corn is grown by most of the Farmers on the  central plateau and is the principal food of the Mexican people because corn is eaten at almost  every meal its cultivation is an important part of farming in Mexico this farmer Fernando Lopez  is plowing the land to plant his crop of corn farming in Mexico as in most  other lands is hard work the home of Senor Lopez and his family  is a small house built of adobe bricks and roofed with Clay tiles inside it's  one main room contains little furniture Senora Lopez is grinding corn for the  new meal she shapes the moist cornmeal into thin flat pancakes called tortillas  which her daughter Maria Cooks on a griddle the Lopez family is among the many Farm  families living on the central plateau of Mexico the central Plateau near Mexico City is often seen  by visitors from the top of a famous landmark the Pyramid of the Sun this Pyramid built centuries  ago by an Indian tribe stands on the site of their ancient religious Center today the center  of Mexican culture and government is Mexico City it is also the main business  and industrial city of Mexico many of his people work in large Office Buildings  of the Mexican federal government while thousands of others work in the busy industries of the  city Mexico City is the chief manufacturing community of the country its Industries include  the manufacture of machine parts and various kinds of Metal Goods the making of glass and many  other products for Mexico's growing markets yet along with modern Industries there  are hand industries that are centuries old the making of pottery jewelry and other products  of Mexican silver and fine lacquerware these crafts are important industries in many cities and  Villages of central and southern Mexico now let's look at the third region of Mexico the lowlands on  the eastern coast near Veracruz for instance we'll see this trees and crops that look quite different  from those in the other regions we've seen sugarcane is among the crops  growing in the warm moist lowlands but this industry is the most important  activity of the lowlands do you know what it is yes producing and refining oil is the chief  industry in this lowlands region it is one of the ways the people of Mexico earn their living can  you remember others in the north cattle ranching working in the businesses and  industries of the large cities and finally in the lowlands producing oil we have learned some important things about  the people of Mexico and the work they do but there is much more to learn about this country you might Begin by finding  answers to such questions as these what other crops are grown in Mexico how is Mexico improving education what about Mexico's long history and its influence  how is modern living changing Mexico we have only begun to study Mexico one of the most interesting  and colorful countries of the Americas [Music]