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Mexico City

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Coordinates: 19°26′N 99°8′W / 19.433°N 99.133°W / 19.433; -99.133
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Mexico City
Ciudad de México
City
Mexico City
Clockwise from top: skyline of Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, skyline of Polanco, Palacio de Bellas Artes, National Palace, Angel of Independence, and Torre Latinoamericana
Clockwise from top: skyline of Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, skyline of Polanco, Palacio de Bellas Artes, National Palace, Angel of Independence, and Torre Latinoamericana
Flag of Mexico City
Flag
Official seal of Mexico City
Seal
Motto(s): 
Ciudad Inovadora y De Derechos
(A City with Innovation and Rights)
México City within Mexico
México City within Mexico
Coordinates: 19°26′N 99°8′W / 19.433°N 99.133°W / 19.433; -99.133
CountryMexico
EntityFederal District
Subdivisions
Founded
    • March 13, 1325: Tenochtitlan[1]
    • August 13, 1521:
      Ciudad de México[2]
    • November 18, 1824: Distrito Federal[3]
    • Government
     • Head of GovernmentClara Brugada (MORENA)
     • Senators[4]Pablo Gómez PRD
    René Arce PRD
    Federico Döring PAN
     • Deputies[5]
    Area
    [6][b]
     • Total1,485 km2 (573 sq mi)
     Ranked 32nd
    Elevation
    		2,420 m (7,940 ft)
    Highest elevation
    [7]
    		3,930 m (12,890 ft)
    Population
     (2010)
     • Total9,209,944
     • Rank2nd
     • Density6,200/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
      • Rank1st
    Demonym(s)Capitalino (a)
    Defeño (a)
    Mexiqueño (a)
    Chilango (a)
    Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
    Postal code
    00–16
    Area code
    ISO 3166 codeMX-DFE
    HDIIncrease 0.8307 Very High Ranked 1st
    GDP$411.4 billion dollars[8]
    WebsiteOfficial Web Site
    ^ b. Area of the Federal District that includes non-urban areas at the south

    Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México; abbreviated CDMX) is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It is the most populous city in the Western Hemisphere and the second most populous city in the world (after Tokyo). It is also one of the polluted cities in the world. The Aztec people were here before the Spanish came and founded Mexico City. It was refounded in 1521 by Hernán Cortés. Today, about 8.5 million people live in the city, and about 18 million live in the Greater Mexico City urban area. The city of Mexico City ceased to exist in 1928. Since then, there is only the Federal District.

    Mexico City has 18.1 million people. It is the city with the second highest number of people in the world after Tokyo in Japan and just slightly more populated than Mumbai in India.[9]

    History

    [change | change source]

    Mexico City was first built in the 1520s after Hernán Cortés destroyed the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards then emptied the basin of Lake Texcoco to keep it from flooding. By the late 1700s, Mexico City had over 100,000 people. However, there were many slums, which caused epidemics.[10] There were political problems in the mid-1800s after Mexico became independent. More than 40 people ruled in the 40 years after the country became independent. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric light and gas were brought to the city. But there was a big difference between the rich western part of the city and the poor eastern part of the city. By 1930, Mexico City had 1,000,000 people.[11] The city kept growing quickly. In 1968, the Olympic Games were in Mexico City. In 1985, an earthquake hit the capital. In the past few decades, there have been problems with crime and corruption.[12]

    Environment

    [change | change source]

    Mexico City has a high population density. It is also surrounded by mountains. This causes problems with air pollution.[13]

    Sometimes Mexico City gets earthquakes.

    Geography

    [change | change source]

    Mexico City is in the Valley of Mexico at around 2,300 meters (7,800 feet) above sea level.[14]

    Mexico City its divided by 16 boroughs: Álvaro Obregón, Azcapotzalco, Benito Juarez, Coyoacán, Cuajimalpa, Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero, Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, Magdalena Contreras, Miguel Hidalgo, Milpa Alta, Tláhuac, Tlalpan, Venustiano Carranza and Xochimilco.

    Mexico City was originally built on a lake, Lake Texcoco, which is now mostly drained. The ecology of the area has been much changed by the draining. Many of its native species, such as the Axolotl, are extinct, or endangered.

    The mountains Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl are nearby.[13]

    Climate

    [change | change source]

    Mexico City is in the tropics. But because its elevation is so high, it has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb in the Köppen climate classification). This means temperatures are warm or mild year-round. It is a lot wetter in the summer than in the winter. Some parts of the city get frost in the winter.

    Climate data for Mexico City (Tacubaya) (1981–2000)
    Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
    Record high °C (°F) 28.2
    (82.8)     		29.3
    (84.7)     		33.3
    (91.9)     		33.4
    (92.1)     		33.9
    (93.0)     		33.5
    (92.3)     		30.0
    (86.0)     		28.4
    (83.1)     		28.5
    (83.3)     		28.9
    (84.0)     		29.3
    (84.7)     		28.0
    (82.4)     		33.9
    (93.0)
    Average high °C (°F) 21.7
    (71.1)     		23.4
    (74.1)     		25.7
    (78.3)     		26.8
    (80.2)     		26.8
    (80.2)     		25.3
    (77.5)     		23.8
    (74.8)     		23.9
    (75.0)     		23.3
    (73.9)     		22.9
    (73.2)     		22.9
    (73.2)     		21.9
    (71.4)     		24.0
    (75.2)
    Daily mean °C (°F) 14.6
    (58.3)     		15.9
    (60.6)     		18.1
    (64.6)     		19.6
    (67.3)     		20.0
    (68.0)     		19.4
    (66.9)     		18.2
    (64.8)     		18.3
    (64.9)     		18.0
    (64.4)     		17.1
    (62.8)     		16.3
    (61.3)     		15.0
    (59.0)     		17.5
    (63.5)
    Average low °C (°F) 7.4
    (45.3)     		8.5
    (47.3)     		10.4
    (50.7)     		12.3
    (54.1)     		13.2
    (55.8)     		13.5
    (56.3)     		12.5
    (54.5)     		12.7
    (54.9)     		12.7
    (54.9)     		11.2
    (52.2)     		9.7
    (49.5)     		8.1
    (46.6)     		11.0
    (51.8)
    Record low °C (°F) −4.1
    (24.6)     		−4.4
    (24.1)     		−4
    (25)     		−0.6
    (30.9)     		3.7
    (38.7)     		4.5
    (40.1)     		5.3
    (41.5)     		6
    (43)     		1.6
    (34.9)     		0
    (32)     		−3
    (27)     		−3
    (27)     		−4.4
    (24.1)
    Average precipitation mm (inches) 7.6
    (0.30)     		7.0
    (0.28)     		8.9
    (0.35)     		22.5
    (0.89)     		66.5
    (2.62)     		140.0
    (5.51)     		189.5
    (7.46)     		171.2
    (6.74)     		139.8
    (5.50)     		72.4
    (2.85)     		12.6
    (0.50)     		8.2
    (0.32)     		846.1
    (33.31)
    Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.2 2.5 4.1 6.8 12.9 18.7 23.2 20.9 18.2 9.6 3.8 2.0 124.8
    Average relative humidity (%) 51 47 41 43 51 63 69 69 70 64 57 54 56
    Mean monthly sunshine hours 240 234 268 232 225 183 176 176 157 194 232 236 2,555
    Source: Colegio de Postgraduados (extremes 1921–1989)[15] Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (normals, precipitation and sunshine hours 1981–2000)[16]

    References

    [change | change source]
    1. ↑ "Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores – México". Sre.gob.mx. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
    2. ↑ "De la Colonia / 13 agosto de 1521: rendición de México-Tenochtitlan". Redescolar.ilce.edu.mx. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
    3. ↑ "Conmemora la SecretarĂa de Cultura el 185 Aniversario del Decreto de CreaciĂłn del Distrito Federal". Cultura.df.gob.mx. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
    4. ↑ "Senadores por el Distrito Federal LXI Legislatura". Senado de la Republica. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
    5. ↑ "Listado de Diputados por Grupo Parlamentario del Distrito Federal". Camara de Diputados. Retrieved October 20, 2010.[permanent dead link]
    6. ↑ "Resumen". Cuentame INEGI. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
    7. ↑ "Relieve". Cuentame INEGI. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
    8. ↑ "Global city GDP 2011". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
    9. ↑ "Largest Cities of the World - by population". worldatlas.com. Retrieved 2008-10-22. Including population within the recognized metro area of the city and also people living in the immediate surrounding area outside of the established border of the city the most populated cities in the world are: 1. Tokyo, Japan - 28,025,000, 2. Mexico City - 18,131,000, 3. Mumbai, India - 18,042,000, 4. São Paulo, Brazil - 17, 711,000, 5. New York City, USA - 16,626,000.
    10. ↑ Carlos Mautner (28 April 2014). "Mexico City: The razing of Tenochtitlán and the emergence of Mexico City". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
    11. ↑ Carlos Mautner (28 April 2014). "Mexico City: The city after independence". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
    12. ↑ Carlos Mautner (28 April 2014). "Mexico City: Metamorphosis into megalopolis". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Mexico: Geography and Environment". Infoplease. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
    14. ↑ "Mexico Geography-Information, climate and weather in Mexico". Retrieved 1 August 2014.
    15. ↑ "Normales climatológicas para Mexico-Central-Tacubaya D.F." (in Spanish). Colegio de Postgraduados. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
    16. ↑ "NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1981–2000" (PDF) (in Spanish). Comision Nacional Del Agua. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
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