The Mesoamerican civilization of Olmec was located in the southern gulf coast of mexico, near the gulf of mexico. The rich environment in the area was extremely beneficial to the olmec's survival, it allowed them to grow more crops, and have more variety of foods. The climate of the Olmec area is very wet with heavy rainfall, and the landscape is dense tropical forest. The area is also subject to annual flooding from the rivers in the area, which creates swamps and marshes along the outer areas.