Tehuantepec, << tuh WAHN tuh `pehk,` >> Isthmus of, separates the Bay of Campeche from the Gulf of Tehuantepec in Mexico. The isthmus, which is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) wide, forms the narrowest part of Mexico. Most of it is a lowland. But in the south, the Sierra Atravesada Mountains rise to 1,550 feet (470 meters), though lower passes cut through them. The isthmus has large deposits of petroleum and sulfur. It has been considered as a site for a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans since the 1500’s.
