Geography
Veracruz is a long, thin state: about 700 km from the Pánuco river in the north to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the south, but in places barely 40 km wide between the mountains and the sea. Its 71,826 km² hold the longest coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 720 km of it. The land rises in three steps — coastal plain, foothills, then the Sierra Madre Oriental and the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Pico de Orizaba, on the Puebla line, is Mexico's highest mountain at 5,636 m; Cofre de Perote, above Xalapa, reaches 4,282 m. In the south the Los Tuxtlas massif rises straight from the coast around Lake Catemaco, an isolated volcanic field whose last recorded eruption was in 1793.
Because the mountains catch the Gulf moisture, Veracruz is one of the wettest parts of Mexico outside Tabasco and Chiapas, and it carries a large share of the country's surface water. The Papaloapan, the second-largest river in Mexico by volume, drains the centre; the Coatzacoalcos and Uxpanapa drain the isthmus; the Tuxpan, Cazones and Nautla cross the north; and the Pánuco marks the boundary with Tamaulipas. The state produces more sugar cane, oranges and coffee than any other, with the coffee grown in the cloud belt around Coatepec, Córdoba and Huatusco.
Veracruz has 212 municipalities, second only to Oaxaca, and 8.06 million people, the fourth-largest population of any state. Its history is unusually dense: the Olmec heartland at San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes, the Totonac city of El Tajín near Papantla, and the port through which Cortés landed in 1519 and through which almost all Spanish traffic to New Spain then passed.
Four ports still work the coast. Veracruz handles the largest volume of general cargo on the Gulf and has been enlarged into the neighbouring Bahía de Vergara; Tuxpan is the nearest deep-water port to Mexico City, about 300 km away; Coatzacoalcos and Pajaritos serve the petrochemical belt of the isthmus; and Alvarado is a fishing harbour at the mouth of the Papaloapan. At the isthmus the country narrows to about 200 km between the Gulf and the Pacific, the crossing that the Interoceanic Corridor railway now links from Coatzacoalcos to Salina Cruz in Oaxaca.
Main cities
| City | Population (2020) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Xalapa | 443,063 | Capital, 1,400 m; anthropology museum |
| Veracruz | 428,323 | Oldest and busiest port on the Gulf |
| Coatzacoalcos | 310,698 | Isthmus port, petrochemicals |
| Córdoba | 218,153 | Coffee and sugar town on Highway 150D |
| Poza Rica | 200,119 | Northern oil city, near El Tajín |
| Minatitlán | 162,899 | Refinery on the Coatzacoalcos river |
| Tuxpan | 155,557 | The Gulf port closest to Mexico City |
| Boca del Río | 138,058 | Beach and hotel suburb of the port |
| Orizaba | 126,024 | Industrial town below Pico de Orizaba |
Figures are 2020 municipal populations from the INEGI census. Veracruz and Boca del Río together form a metropolitan area of about 940,000, the largest in the state.
Neighbouring states
Seven states adjoin Veracruz, more than almost any other. From the north, clockwise: Tamaulipas across the Pánuco, San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo behind the Sierra Madre Oriental, Puebla along the volcanic crest including the summit of Pico de Orizaba, Oaxaca to the south-west, Chiapas across the isthmus and Tabasco at the south-eastern end. The Gulf of Mexico forms the entire eastern side.
Getting there
Four airports take scheduled flights: Veracruz (VER), the largest, with services to Mexico City, Monterrey, Cancún and Houston; Xalapa (JAL); Minatitlán (MTT), for the isthmus; and Poza Rica (PAZ) in the north.
By road, Federal Highway 150D is the fast route from Mexico City through Puebla, Orizaba and Córdoba to the port — about 400 km and 5 hours, with a long descent from 2,400 m to sea level through the Cumbres de Maltrata. Highway 140 links Xalapa to the coast, Highway 180 runs the length of the shore from Tampico to Villahermosa, Highway 145 serves Coatzacoalcos, and Highway 185 crosses the isthmus to Salina Cruz alongside the rebuilt interoceanic railway. See the road map and the airports map.
Questions about Veracruz
Where is Veracruz on the map of Mexico?
Along the Gulf of Mexico on the eastern side of the country, a crescent about 700 km long from the Pánuco river down to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The port of Veracruz is roughly 400 km east of Mexico City.
Is Xalapa or Veracruz the capital?
Xalapa is the capital, a highland city at about 1,400 m with the state government and the University of Veracruz. Veracruz city, 100 km away on the coast, is the port and the better-known name.
What is the highest mountain in Mexico?
Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltépetl, at 5,636 m. It stands on the boundary between Veracruz and Puebla and is a dormant volcano with the largest glacier in Mexico on its northern slope. See the volcanoes map.
When is hurricane season in Veracruz?
June to November, with the greatest risk in September and October. Between October and March the coast also gets nortes, cold fronts that bring several days of strong north wind and close the port.
Is Veracruz safe to visit?
The port, Xalapa, Córdoba and Orizaba receive steady domestic tourism; the US State Department advises reconsidering travel to the state as a whole because of crime. Check the current advisory before you go.