Nuevo Leon

Nuevo León , or New Leon, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, compose the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 51 municipalities and its capital city is Monterrey.

It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.–Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas.

The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which was itself named for the historic Spanish Kingdom of León.

Besides its capital, other important cities are Guadalupe, Santa Catarina, San Nicolás de los Garza, and San Pedro Garza García, all of which are part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area.

History

Further information: New Kingdom of León

Nuevo León was originally founded by conquistador Alberto del Canto, although frequent raids by Chichimecas, the natives of the north, prevented the establishment of almost any permanent settlements. Subsequent to the failure of del Canto to populate the area, Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, at the head of a group of Portuguese and Spanish settlers who were of Jewish descent, requested permission from the Spanish King to attempt to settle the area which would be called the New Kingdom of León and would fail as well. Business rivals later persecuted the Carbajal family by sicking the Inquisition upon them in the 16th century. It wasn't until 1596 under the leadership of Diego de Montemayor the colony became permanent. Nuevo Leon eventually became (along with the provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Santander and Texas) one of the Eastern Internal Provinces in Northern New Spain.

In the 19th century, Nuevo León was in a growth spurt and the bargain land deals attracted immigrants of German, Slavic, French, Italian, Jewish and Anglo-American origin. The capital of Nuevo León is Monterrey, the third largest city in Mexico with over four million residents. Monterrey is a modern and affluent city, and Nuevo León has long been one of Mexico's most industrialized states.

Geography

Nuevo León has an extreme climate, and there is very little rainfall throughout the year. The territory covers 64,220 square kilometres (24,800 sq mi), and can be divided into three regions: a hot, dry region in the north, a temperate region in the mountains, and a semi-arid region in the south. The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range affects in an important way the lay of the land forming the Galeana and Doctor Arroyo plateaus, the Iguana, Picachos, Papagayos, and Santa Clara mountain ranges, and the Pilón, Ascensión, and Río Blanco valleys. As for hydrography, the San Juan River supplies the El Cuchillo dam, which provides water for Monterrey and the metropolitan area. There are also the Cerro Prieto, La Boca, Vaquerías, Nogalitos, and Agualeguas dams. Laguna de Labradores is a major lake in Nuevo León, and Pozo del Gavilán is a natural well. Both are located in the Galeana municipality. The flora of the region includes brush and pastures in the low regions, and pine and oak trees in the mountains. The fauna includes black bears, mountain lions, javelinas, prairie dogs, foxes, coyotes, and white-tailed deer, along with smaller species.

Major communities

• Apodaca
• Cadereyta Jiménez
• Ciudad Benito Juárez
• Doctor Arroyo
• General Escobedo
• Guadalupe
• Linares
• Monterrey
• Pesquería
• Sabinas Hidalgo
• San Nicolás de los Garza
• San Pedro Garza García
• Santa Catarina

Largest cities

City City
Population Metropolitan
Population Metropolitan
area type Monterrey 1,135,550 4,080,329 Municipality Guadalupe 678,006 – Part of Greater Monterrey Apodaca 523,270 - Part of Greater Monterrey San Nicolás de los Garza 443,273 – Part of Greater Monterrey General Escobedo 357,256 – Part of Greater Monterrey Santa Catarina 270,790 – Part of Greater Monterrey Juarez 256,454 – Part of Greater Monterrey García 143,668 – Part of Greater Monterrey San Pedro Garza García 119,017 – Part of Greater Monterrey

Flora and fauna

Rough green snake

Flora and fauna of Nuevo León Vulpes macrotis Ursus americanus Cardinalis cardinalis Mephitis macroura Aquila chrysaetos Cyanocitta stelleri Pecari tajacu Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori Tachybaptus dominicus Antilocapra americana Carya illinoinensis Dioon edule Cercis canadensis Aztekium ritteri Pinus culminicola

Twinning and Covenants

The state has agreements with other states, provinces, regions and autonomous communities.

• British Columbia, Canada
• Quebec, Canada
• Texas, United States
• Catalonia, Spain
• Lombardy, Italy
• State of Mexico, Mexico
• Jalisco, Mexico
• Coahuila, Mexico