Tehuantepec, Isthmus of

Tehuantepec, Isthmus of,

c.125 mi (200 km) wide at its narrowest, S Mexico, between the Gulf of Campeche and the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It is mostly a rolling, tropical lowland with the lowest pass elevation at 754 ft (230 m) above sea level. Building of an interoceanic canal there was long considered, but estimated costs proved prohibitive. A transisthmian railroad between Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz was opened in 1907.