influence. During certain seasons of the year the climate is hot, moist and unhealthy. Victoria, the capital, lies in the interior, about 1,000 feet above sea-level, and has a population of nearly 20,000. The surrounding country is agriculturally very rich. Matamoros, a port of entry opposite Brownsville, Texas, is one of the gateways for the National Railways of Mexico, and also receives considerable ocean going trade. It has a population of 18,000. Tula, in the south, is important only as an ixtle producing center. It lies ninety miles away from a railway. Transportation: Matamoros and Tampico furnish Tamaulipas with two good seaports. The former is connected with Monterrey and the interior by a line of the National Railways. Tampico is joined to Monterrey by the old Mexican Central; and to the Capital, by way of San Luis Potosí, by another line of the same system. The Pánuco River is also navigable for some miles inland, and the oil companies have added much to the transportation facilities around Tampico by means of roads, narrow gauge railroads, and the improvement of waterways. Area: 1,534 square miles. TLAXCALA Population: 186,642 (average density, 121.6). Location: A south central plateau state, the smallest and most densely populated in the Republic, bounded on the west by the state of Mexico; on the northwest by Hidalgo; on all other sides by Puebla. Physical Characteristics: The state is extremely mountainous, with a number of notable peaks, and several deep, fertile valleys. It lies at a mean elevation of 6,600 feet, and has a dry, cold climate. Chief Industries: Agriculture and a little mining and manufacturing constitute almost the sole industries of the state. The chief agricultural products are wheat, corn, beans, peas, chile and the maguey plant. Because of the extent of these maguey plantations, Tlaxcala has become one of the chief centers in Mexico for the manufacture of the native liquors, pulque and tequila. Principal Cities: Tlaxcala, the capital, has a population of 3,000. It is important chiefly because of its place in pre-colonial days and early Spanish history. Transportation: The Mexican Railway crosses the state from northwest to southeast, and the Interoceanic touches its northern border. Area: 27,880 square miles. VERA CRUZ Population: 1,165,934 (average density, 38.7). Location: Vera Cruz extends along the Gulf of Mexico, from Tamaulipas in the north to Tabasco and Chiapas in the south. On the west it is bounded by San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Oaxaca. Physical Characteristics: Except for the long, hot coastal plain along the Gulf, the state reaches back into the high ranges of the Sierra Madre Mountains and consequently possesses a wide range of climate and a great variety of physical characteristics. The mountainous regions are healthful and agreeable, but the lowlands are subject to extreme temperatures and excessive rains. In the past, yellow fever and malaria have made these regions most unhealthful. The state has a large number of lakes and streams, and the two famous peaks, Orizaba and Cofre de Perote. The most important rivers, beginning in the north and naming them in order, are the Pánuco, Tuxpam, Papaloápam, and Coatzacoalcos. Its chief seaports are Port Lobos, Tuxpam, Vera Cruz, and Coatzacoalcos. The Tamiahua Lagoon, between the Pánuco and Tuxpam Rivers, is also an important feature. Chief Industries: The state is the richest in Mexico in agriculture and petroleum. Its chief agricultural products are coffee, tobacco, sugar, tropical fruits, rubber, vanilla, cereals, and live stock. In several of these it ranks first in the Republic. The petroleum industry has immensely increased the economic activities of the state in recent years. Not only does the greater part of the oil produced in Mexico come from Vera Cruz, but the refining, storage and export of petroleum, together with the wide demand for materials to carry on the industry, has also built up an entirely new field of economic enterprise. The state also holds the first place in certain lines of manufactures, notably in the textile industry, and the city of Orizaba has the largest cotton mills in the Republic. There are also a number of hydroelectric plants in the state. Principal Cities: Vera Cruz, the chief port of Mexico, has a population of 40,000. It is the gateway to the capital, a city which unites the modern with the very ancient, and a place of great commercial activity. It lies 265 miles from Mexico City, with which it is connected by the Mexican Central and the Interoceanic. From May to July the climate of Vera Cruz is extremely hot and yellow fever epidemics are not unknown. Jalapa, the capital, is situated at an elevation of 4,600 feet, in a district sometimes spoken of as the "garden spot of Mexico." It lies 81 miles from Vera Cruz and 211 miles from Mexico City. Tuxpán, five miles from the Gulf on the river of the same name, ranks next to Tampico as an export center for the shipments of petroleum. Puerto Mexico (Coatzacoalcos) is the eastern terminus of the Tehuantepec National Railroad and a port of considerable importance. It is an important port for the shipment of petroleum. Orizaba, 83 miles from Vera Cruz and 184 miles from Mexico City, is the most important cotton manufacturing city of Mexico. Its population is about 35,000. Cordoba, sixteen miles from Orizaba, has a population of 15,000 and lies in one of the richest agricultural sections of Vera Cruz. The district is famous for its coffee. Transportation: Besides the ocean shipping, which the state's various ports make possible, Vera Cruz has unusually good railroad facilities for a Mexican state. The northern portion finds an outlet through Tampico to the lines of the Mexican Central. The central part is crossed by the Mexican Railway from Mexico City to Vera Cruz, and by the Interoceanic. From this line the Vera Cruz and Isthmus runs southward to the Tehuantepec National, which in turn crosses the Isthmus from the Gulf to the Pacific. Area: 15,939 square miles. YUCATAN Population: 347,781 (average density, 9.6). Location: Yucatán lies at the extreme northern end of the Peninsula of the same name. On the north it is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico; on the east and south by Quintana Roo; on the southwest by Campeche; and on the west by Campeche and the Gulf. Physical Characteristics: The state is a great plain, with a gradual slope from the interior to the coast. Along the Gulf, especially in the northwest, the soil is sterile and dry and is adapted only to the cultivation of henequen. In other sections there are great forests of dye and cabinet woods which have never been exploited. The climate as a whole is agreeable. Chief Industries: The cultivation and preparation of henequen (sisal hemp) is the industry of Yucatán. In former years, this article constituted the most valuable industrial product of Mexico, and gave to Yucatán a place second only to Vera Cruz among the agricultural states of Mexico. The other products of Yucatán are sugar, chicle, and live stock. There are no minerals in the state, and so far petroleum has not been exploited. The inhabitants are largely Maya Indians. Principal Cities: Mérida, the capital, has a population of nearly 65,000 and lies twenty-five miles from the port of Progreso. It is an important commercial center and carries on a limited amount of manufacturing. Progreso, population about 6,000, is the port of entry for Yucatán and the chief export center for the world's supply of sisal hemp. Valladolid, lying 112 miles across the state from Merida, is an unimportant place of 5,000 inhabitants. Transportation: The only railroads in the state are the lines of the United Railways of Yucatán. This system connects the capital with Progreso and Valladolid; serves the important henequen districts in the vicinity of Merida; and extends to the capital of Campeche, the neighboring state. Area: 24,471 square miles. ZACATECAS Population: 480,690 (average density, 19.2). Location: Zacatecas is a central plateau state, bounded on the north by Durango and Coahuila; on the east by San Luis Potosí; on the south by Aguascalientes and Jalisco; on the west by Jalisco; on the northwest by Durango. Physical Characteristics: The state is extremely mountainous and most of it lies at a very high elevation. The climate is cold and dry; there are no rivers of any importance, and only in the southern portion is the land especially adapted to agriculture. Chief Industries: Ever since 1546, when silver was discovered near the present capital of the state by Juan de Tolosa, Zacatecas has been distinguished for its production of that metal. The most famous of its mining districts are those of Zacatecas, Fresnillo, Sombrerete, Aranzazu (Mazapil), Bolanos, Chalchihuites and Pinos. The important mines of the Veta Grande, San Clemente, Quebradilla and San Cristobal are located in the Zacatecas district. Fresnillo, forty miles northwest of Zacatecas, and Sombrerete, some fifty miles beyond Fresnillo in the same direction, are famous silver camps. Aranzazú, or Mazapil, near the northern boundary of the state, produces gold, copper and lead as well as silver. The Mazapil Copper Co., located here, is one of the important mining companies of the Republic. The Candelaria mine, of the Pinos district, is another famous property, dating back to Spanish colonial days. The agricultural resources of Zacatecas, though not comparable to its mineral wealth, are not inconsiderable. successfully in certain sections; state holds an important place. local character. Principal Cities: Cereals, maguey and sugar-cane are raised and in the production of sheep and cattle the There is no manufacturing except of a purely Zacatecas, the capital, has a population of 33,000 and is the center of the most productive mining region of the state. Because of the altitude (8,000 feet), at which the city is situated, the climate is disagreeably cold and windy during most of the year. From Zacatecas to Mexico City is 440 miles, and to Guadalajara 112 miles. Mazapil, population 6,000; Sombrerete, population 12,000; and Fresnillo, population 7,000, are important mining camps, of which mention has already been made. Transportation: The Mexican Central, from Mexico City to Ciudad Juarez, runs north and south through Zacatecas, and the main line from Aguascalientes to San Luis Potosí and Tampico crosses the southeast corner of the state. |