Mexico is situated in the southwestern region of North America, bordered by the United States to the north, Belize and Guatemala to the south, the Gulf of Mexico to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Mexico is approximately one-fourth the size of the United States with a total land area of about 1,964,375 square kilometers. The country is divided into six tourist regions - Northern Mexico, Central Mexico, Southern Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico, The Yucatan Peninsula, The Pacific Coast, and The Baja California Peninsula.

Triangular-shaped, Mexico stretches over 3000 kilometers from northwest to southeast and its width varies from more than 2000 kilometers in the north to less than 220 kilometers at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the south. One of Mexico's peninsulas, Baja California, forms the Gulf of California in the western side and the other peninsula, Yucatán, forms the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche in the east. A higher elevation is seen towards the center of Mexico, with mountain chains in the east and west.

Mexico lies on either side of the Tropic of Cancer, with the land above the 24th parallel experiencing cool winters and the land below experiencing a tropical climate with fairly constant weather patterns. The country's northern and southern borders are two rivers - Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) and Usumacinta. Main inland rivers include Grijalva, Balsas, Panuco, and Yaqui.