... different physiographic regions. The largest is the Mexican Plateau which extends from the mountain Tehuantepec northward to the border of the United States. This plateau can also be broken down into two major areas, the arid north, which is sparsely populated, and the southern area, which is more agricultural and fertile with heavier population. On the western side of Mexico is Baja California, which is nearly 800 miles long and only about 100 miles wide. The central core is occupied by sky scraping mountains such as the San Pedro Matir and Sierra de Juarez mountain range. The coastal ranges include picturesque views and beaches, with famous and popular ...

... of the Cascade Range. Mt. St Helens had been dormant since 1859 and has let off its first blast since then today. The volcano killed all life in an area of 180 sq. cm(70 sq. miles) including at least 60 people! The ash and dust spread much farther than this, of course. Today it is continuing to emit to emit dust and ash at intervals. Today a monument has been erected called the National Volcano Monument, in memory of this tragedy. How A Volcano is Formed A volcano is formed in this way: 1)Magma starts off below the crust. 2)Magma collects in chamber. 3)Pressure rises. 4)The pressure rises so high that the magma breaks thr ...

... range from 16 deg c to 27 deg c (that is 60 dea to 80 dea F). In the hot season august to November temperatures range 28 deg c to 32 deg c (85 deg f to 90 deg f ). The country has a wealth of mineral resources , especially copper ,lead, zinc , and coal . Copper accounts for more than 80% of this countries export earnings. The copperbelt where four large copper mines and several smaller mines are located is where most mining takes place it lies north of lusaka along the Zairian border . The many rivers near the mines have valuable potential for hydroelectric power. Its population is mostly black Africans who speak BANTU. The national language is english. Mos ...

... the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these border zones. There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa: 1.a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator 2.a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3.a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by drought. All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils a ...

... the island and do not come from a central mass. The main 3 ranges are the Sierra de Trinidad in the central part of the island, the Sierra Maestra, in the Southeast, and Sierra de los Órganos in the West. The first two ranges are under 3000 feet. The Sierra Maestra, has the greatest in altitude and mass, and contains Pico Turquino (6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile. One of the natural features of the island is the large number of limestone caverns. Most of the many rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The main river is the Cauto, located in the Southeast. The coast of Cuba is very irregular and is inde ...

... regarded other people as savages. They captured and enslaved thousands of men and women from other lands. The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the gift of the Nile, because floodwaters of this great river deposited rich, black soil on the land year after year. Egyptian farmers planted their crops in this fertile soil. Sandy plateaus and towering cliffs bordered the river valley. Beyond these waters stretched the barren wastes of the Sahara desert. On the edge of the desert, the Egyptians built giant pyramids as burial places for their pharaohs. They carved the Great Sphinx out of solid rock as a guardian of King CheopsÕ Great Pyramid at Giza. The ...

... sections of the high plateaus and the area around Harar, with terrains roughly above 7 900 ft. in elevation. The second zone is the temperate, or weina dega zone, comprising portions of the high plateau between 4 900 and 7 900 ft.. The final area being the hot or kolla zone, encompassing an area with an altitude less than 5 000 ft. The cool zones temperatures and precipitation can be seen on figure 3. The temperate zones temperatures range from 15.6C to 29.4C. The temperature in the hot zone of the lowlands can reach temperatures as high as 60C. There are two distinct seasons in Ethiopia the rainy season, or kremt, lasting from mid-June to mid-semptember ...

... being the leading export as well as bauxite, gold, and rock salt. The population of the Dominican Republic is around 7.8 million. Close to 40% of that population is under the age of 16. More and more Dominicans are migrating to the cities for a better chance at life. This has greatly effected the rural population by shrinking it steadily. About half of the total population is located between Santiago de los Caballeros and San Pedro de Macoris. Another 1/3 of the population is located in the capitol city of Santo Domingo and between the cities of La Romana and San Cristobal. The annual growth rate is estimated to be at 1.71% for the next couple of years until ...

... 68% of the country's land. Japan lies on an extremely unstable part of the earth's crust. As a result, the land is constantly shifting. This shifting causes two of Japan's most striking features-- earthquakes and volcanoes. The Japanese islands have about 1500 earthquakes a year. Most of them are minor tremors that cause little damage, but severe earthqaukes occur every few years. Underseaquakes sometimes cause huge, destructive tidal waves, called tsunami, along Japan's Pacific coast. The Japanese islands have more than 150 major volcanoes. Over 60 of these volcanoes are active. Numerous short, swift rivers cross Japan's rugged surface. most of the rivers are t ...

... make conditions even worse. Although the literacy rate is currently rather high, there are no schools in the rural areas, and school is only required until the age of 14. Malnutrition is extremely common. Most children get about what we eat for lunch for the entire day. The work rate among children is high. Cholera is a big problem in Ecuador; Abourt 650 people died of it last year. The infant mortality rate is also high, although it has lowered drastically in the past three years. Only 16% of the roads are paved and many houses do not have running water or electricity. People are trying to improve these conditions in any way they can. The man who sta ...