The Eastern(2) Sierra Madre(3) mountains dominate this area of Mexico, reaching above 3500 meters. Beyond them to the east are coastal lowlands bordering the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) flows southeastward to the Gulf along the two states' northeast borders. Lakes are small, with the biggest freshwater bodies being reservoirs.
This is one part of a large area of the Americas where Spanish and Roman Catholic Christianity represent the majority.
Monterry, capital of Nuevo León, is famous for the book collections in indigionous languages held in the Institute of Technology. Other cities are the Reynosa-McAllen and Matamoros-Brownsville metropolitan areas that straddle the Tamaulipas-Texas border.
A sampling of pre-Columbian languages follows: Cuahuiltecan, perhaps in the Hokan group; and Tamaulipeco, an Uto-Aztecan language.
northeast
east
south
west from a border-point in western Nuevo Le&oactue;n
northwest
1. Translates as New Lion.
2. Oriental in Spanish.
3. Mother Range in English.