Puebla

State of central Mexico; area 33,919 sq km/13,096 sq mi; population (2000 est) 6,070,300. Its capital is Puebla. Much of the state lies in the southeastern part of the Anáhuac Plateau at a height of 1,500 to 2,400 m/5,000 to 8,000 ft. With the advantages of fertile valleys in the Sierra Madre Oriental and a position, with good communications, between Mexico City and Veracruz, Puebla has long been a densely-populated state. The main occupations are farming, producing maize, wheat, sugar-cane, and tobacco, and mining for gold, silver, and copper. There are many archaeological remains of the Pre-Columbian civilization.