Tabasco General Information

Picture
Official Name: State of Tabasco
Capital: Villahermosa
Municipal division: 17 municipalities in 4 zones
Governor: Andrés Rafael Granier Melo
Population: More than 1.9 million (census, June 2005)


Boundaries: The states of Chiapas to the south, Campeche to the northeast and Veracruz to the west. On its north is the Gulf of Mexico, it borders as well with the Petén department of Guatemala to the east, and with the Bay of Campeche (part of the Gulf of Mexico) to the north. Tabasco is in the northern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.


Picture
  • The name of the State was derived from a náhuatl origin which literally means "flooded earth".
  • In western Tabasco was where the Olmec, Mesoamerica‘s mother culture, reached its heights of development between 800 and 400 BC. Olmec religion, art, astronomy and architecture deeply influenced all of Mexico‘s later civilizations.
  • The State of Tabasco is considered as the second largest oil producing state in Mexico. Tabasco also has traditionally dedicated most of its land resources to agriculture and livestock, benefiting from its tropical climate, fertile coast plains, high levels of precipitation, and several large riversacross the state.


 

Tourism in Tabasco

Picture
Villahermosa, known as the Emerald of the Southeast, is the City Capital of the State of Tabasco and is located 863 km from Mexico City by the federal highways 180 and 150 in Mexico. Villahermosa is an important city because of its industries — cattle, oil, agriculture, commerce and fish. This modern city offers a wide variety of cultural and tourist attractions, which is surrounded by the Grijalva, Carrizal and Mezcalapa Rivers.


Picture
Museo de La Venta (La Venta Museum), is a stunning combination of nature and archaeology. It exhibits the magnificent Colossal Heads from the largest and the most important ―capital of Mexico‘s mother culture, the Olmec settlement of La Venta in western Tabasco. It is divided into two main sections, one zoological, the other archaeological. The first houses native fauna, such as jaguars and crocodiles.The second displays ancient Olmec monuments. There are 33 sculptures: altars, stele and colossal heads, carved from basalt and other volcanic rocks 


Picture
Malpasito, The archaelogical zone of Malpasito was built on a series of artificial terraces which is composed of 27 mounds. It is located at the municipality of Huimanguillo. Its structures include the ball game, the vast plaza and a sunken courtyard. Other attractive features are its 60 petroglyphs, animals and geometric patterns and symbolic representations related to fertility rites and hunting. This ceremonial center of origin Zoque is provided with the cascade of the site and the hill of the kettle.


Picture
Comalcalco, which is both a municipality and a modern-day city located northwest of Villahermosa, is a Pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site. It is considered as the third largest community in the state of Tabasco. It is also considered as the most unusual and unique Mayan city in the Mesoamerican world because its buildings were constructed with baked clay bricks and mortar made from oyster shells, wherein it features enigmatic architecture and stunning brickwork.
 

It was at its peak between AD600 and 1000, when ruled by the Chontals and remained an important center of commerce for several centuries.


Picture
El Bellote, is located in the municipality of Paraiso, Tabasco. another small fishing town located between the lagoon and the Río Seco. It is situated across the bridge from Puerto Ceiba, which is a small fishing village on the edge of Laguna Mecoacán, a 51,000-hectare oyster breeding ground.
Source: Secretariat of Tourism. Tabasco State Government. United States Virtual Presence Post For more information visit the websites of the Mexico Tourism Board, State of Guerrero; Mexico Ministry of Tourism and the Embassy of Mexico in the Philippines. http://www.visitmexico.com/wb/Visitmexico/Visi_Estados; http://www.visitmexico.com; http://www.sectur.gob.mx; http://www.sre.gob.mx/filipinas/; www.guerrero.gob.mx; www.mayatabasco.com; www.delange.or/LaVenta/ LaVenta.htm; 1 Lonelyplanet.com page 788 History of Tabasco and Chiapas