what three countries does mexico border?
Pacific Ocean Gulf of California Contiguous United States Caribbean Sea United States of America Gulf of Mexico Guatemala California Sea of Cortéz Belize
entailment
 In Mexico , topographical officer George W. Hughes reported to Secretary of State John M. Clayton that a railroad across the isthmus was a “ feasible and practical ” idea . Clayton then instructed Robert P. Letcher , the minister to Mexico , to negotiate a treaty to protect Hargous ' rights . The United States ' proposal gave Mexicans a 20 % discount on shipping , guaranteed Mexican rights in the zone , allowed the United States to send in military if necessary , and gave the United States most @-@ favored @-@ nation status for Mexican cargo fees . This treaty , however , was never finalized . 

contradiction
 The treaty provided for a joint commission , made up of a surveyor and commissioner from each country , to determine the final boundary between the United States and Mexico . The treaty specified that the Rio Grande Boundary would veer west eight miles ( 13 km ) north of El Paso . The treaty was based on the attached 1847 copy of a twenty @-@ five @-@ year @-@ old map . Surveys revealed that El Paso was 36 miles ( 58 km ) further south and 100 miles ( 160 km ) further west than the map showed . Mexico favored the map , but the United States put faith in the results of the survey . The disputed territory involved a few thousand square miles and about 3 @,@ 000 residents ; more significantly , it included the Mesilla Valley . Bordering the Rio Grande , the valley consisted of flat desert land measuring about 50 miles ( 80 km ) , north to south , by 200 miles ( 320 km ) , east to west . This valley was essential for the construction of a transcontinental railroad using a southern route . 

contradiction
 As originally envisioned , the purchase would have encompassed a much larger region , extending far enough south to include most of the current Mexican states of Baja California , Baja California Sur , Coahuila , Chihuahua , Sonora , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas . The Mexican people opposed such boundaries , as did anti @-@ slavery US Senators , who saw the purchase as acquisition of more slave territory . Even the sale of a relatively small strip of land angered the Mexican people , who saw Santa Anna 's actions as a betrayal of their country . They watched in dismay as he squandered the funds generated by the Purchase . Contemporary Mexican historians continue to view the deal negatively and believe that it has defined the American – Mexican relationship in a deleterious way . 

contradiction
 In 1860 , just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War , a group of people in the southern portion of New Mexico Territory passed a resolution condemning the United States for creating such a vast territory with only a single , small government in place at Santa Fe . They claimed by doing so the U.S. had ignored the needs of the southern portion , left them without a functional system of law and order , and allowed the situation to deteriorate into a state of chaos and near anarchy . The group declared secession from the United States and announced their intent to join the Confederate States of America under the name of the Arizona Territory . The U.S. Congress responded in 1863 by creating another Arizona Territory with different , but partially overlapping boundaries . The Confederate boundaries split New Mexico along an east – west line , the 34th parallel north , allowing for a single state connection from Texas to the Colorado River . This would give the Confederacy access to California and the Pacific coast . The Union definition split New Mexico along a north – south line , the 32nd meridian west from Washington , which simply extended the boundary between Colorado and Utah southward . The Union plan eventually became reality , and this created the quadripoint at the modern Four Corners . After the split , New Mexico resembled its modern form , with only slight differences . 

entailment
 = = = Western Mexico to El Salvador = = = 
