page 3 of 4

The Mississippi-Missouri River System is the longest and busiest river system in North America. The system provides access between the Gulf of Mexico and the inland United States. It flows through the most productive agricultural and industrial areas in the United States. Agricultural goods, industrial products, and raw materials transported on the river system include corn, soybeans, wheat, coal, and steel. Barges carry more than 475 million tons of freight on this river each year.      Canadian Forests
 
Maquiladoras       North America has one of the world's largest free trade zones. Because of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA and CAFTA, goods manufactured and sold between the United States and 8 other countries in North America move almost as easily across international boundaries as within their own home country. Trade between these North American countries has increased. Here, workers in a Mexican factory manufacture goods that will be exported to the United States.
 
Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is the largest urban area in North America and the second largest urban area in the world. Located on the Central Plateau more than a mile above sea level, it is Mexico's center of industry, government, culture, and transportation. Thousands of people move to this capital city each year from other parts of the country. Mexico City has one of the worst air pollution problems in the world because of the increase in the number of factories and automobiles in the city.      Mexico City
NYSTROM
Next