Mexico City map

Geography

Mexico City covers 1,495 km², the smallest of the 32 federal entities and less than a tenth of one per cent of national territory, yet it holds 9,209,944 people — the second-largest population after State of Mexico. It occupies the southern half of the Valley of Mexico, a closed basin at 2,240 m with mountains on three sides: the Sierra de las Cruces to the west, the Sierra Nevada to the east with Popocatépetl (5,426 m) and Iztaccíhuatl (5,215 m) on the skyline, and the Ajusco–Chichinautzin volcanic range to the south, where Cerro Ajusco reaches 3,930 m and marks the entity's highest ground.

The basin had no natural outlet. Lake Texcoco filled its floor until the drainage works begun in 1607 and finished by the Gran Canal and, in 1975, the Emisor Central tunnel; the surviving water is the canal network of Xochimilco and Tláhuac, listed by UNESCO in 1987. Pumping the aquifer under the drained lakebed makes the ground sink, in places by up to 40 cm a year, which is why the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Palacio de Bellas Artes lean and why kerbs and pipes fracture across the east of the city. That same soft sediment amplifies seismic waves: the 1985 earthquake (magnitude 8.0, epicentre 400 km away on the Guerrero coast) and the 1988 building code that followed, and then the 2017 quake (magnitude 7.1), all traced their damage to the old lake zone rather than to the volcanic rock of the south and west.

About 40 per cent of the entity is legally designated suelo de conservación, conservation land closed to urban development, almost all of it in the southern alcaldías of Tlalpan, Milpa Alta, Xochimilco, Cuajimalpa and La Magdalena Contreras. Milpa Alta is still largely farmland and nopal cactus fields; Iztapalapa, on the flat former lakebed, is the most densely built.

Main cities and alcaldías

There are no municipalities here. Since 2016 the 16 demarcaciones territoriales, known as alcaldías, each elect a mayor and a council. Iztapalapa alone would rank as Mexico's fourth-largest municipality. Figures are INEGI 2020 census counts for the whole alcaldía.

The six not listed are Miguel Hidalgo (414,470), Iztacalco (404,695), Tláhuac (392,313), La Magdalena Contreras (247,622), Cuajimalpa (217,686) and Milpa Alta (152,685), the smallest.

Neighbouring states

Only two: State of Mexico and Morelos. The State of Mexico surrounds the city on the north, west and east, and the boundary runs through continuous urban fabric at Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec, Naucalpan and Tlalnepantla, so most people crossing it never notice. Morelos meets the city along the crest of the Ajusco–Chichinautzin range in the far south, above Tlalpan and Milpa Alta, and that border is forest and volcanic rock rather than streets. The wider Valle de México metropolitan area — the 16 alcaldías plus 59 State of Mexico municipalities and Tizayuca in Hidalgo — counted about 21.8 million people in 2020, the largest urban area in North America. The city anchors Central Mexico.

Getting there

Two airports serve the entity. Benito Juárez International (MEX) sits 5 km east of the centre in Venustiano Carranza, is the busiest airport in Latin America and works from two terminals linked by an inter-terminal train. Felipe Ángeles International (NLU) opened on 21 March 2022 at the former Santa Lucía air base, about 45 km north of the centre in the State of Mexico, and takes a growing share of domestic and cargo traffic. Toluca (TLC), 65 km west, is the third option for the metropolitan area. The airports map shows all three by code.

Four toll roads leave in four directions: Highway 57D north to Querétaro and the El Bajío; Highway 150D east to Puebla (130 km, about 1 h 45) and on to Veracruz; Highway 95D south to Cuernavaca (85 km, about 1 h 15) and Acapulco; and Highway 15D west to Toluca (65 km) and Guadalajara. Highway 85D runs north-east to Pachuca. Long-distance buses use four terminals placed at those exits — Norte, Sur (Taxqueña), Oriente (TAPO) and Poniente (Observatorio). Inside the city the Metro runs 12 lines and 195 stations over about 226 km, with fares among the lowest of any large system. See the road map for the federal network and the volcanoes map for the peaks on the eastern horizon.

Questions about Mexico City

Where is Mexico City on the map of Mexico?

In the centre-south of the country, in the Valley of Mexico at 2,240 m, roughly 300 km inland from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. It is wrapped by State of Mexico on the north, west and east, and meets Morelos along its southern edge.

Is Mexico City a state?

No. It is a federal entity with state-like powers, created in its present form by the 2016 reform that abolished the Federal District. It is divided into 16 alcaldías rather than municipalities, and its own constitution took effect in 2018.

How high is Mexico City and does the altitude matter?

The Zócalo sits at 2,240 m (7,350 ft) and the southern rim reaches 3,930 m at Cerro Ajusco. Arrivals from sea level often feel the thin air for a day or two; the city is also one of the few capitals where water boils below 93 °C.

How far is Mexico City from Cancún, Guadalajara and Puebla?

About 1,600 km to Cancún by road (a 2 h 20 flight), 540 km to Guadalajara on Highway 15D, and 130 km to Puebla on Highway 150D, about 1 h 45 by car.

Is Mexico City safe to visit?

The US State Department has placed Mexico City in its second-lowest advisory tier, with warnings centred on non-violent street crime and unregistered taxis rather than on the areas most visitors use. Check the current advisory before travelling.