Home to close to four million people,
Nuevo León is a northeastern state in
México. Its capital city is
Monterrey. It is bounded north by the
United States, east and southeast by
Tamaulipas, south and southwest by
San Luis Potosí, and west by Coahuila. The state is crossed by the
Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, which has an average elevation of 5,000 feet.
The state produces few minerals, but quantities of
cotton, citrus fruits,
sugarcane, cereals (especially
maize and
wheat), and vegetables are grown, in part with the aid of
irrigation water provided by the international Falcón Dam on the
Rio Grande.
Nuevo León's principal importance lies in its industries. Its ironworks and steelworks and smelting plants were the first heavy-industrial establishments in
Latin America, and the state also supports numerous
textile enterprises, a large
beer brewery, and other
industrial activities. The region was made a state in
1824 and was occupied by
American forces during the
Mexican-American War (1846-48). A major
railroad and
highway linking
Laredo, Texas, with the Gulf port of
Tampico and
Mexico City pass through
Monterrey, which also possesses an international airport.
Population: (1980) = 2,513,044; (1990) = 3,098,736; (2000) = 3,834,141.
Population provided by www.citypopulation.de