ORIZABA (

See also:

• INDIAN

Indian name Ahuaializ-apan, pleasant

See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters)  , a city of Mexico in the state of Vera Cruz, 82 m. by rail W.S.W. of the port of Vera Cruz . Pop . (Igo()) 32,894, including a large percentage of Indians and half-breeds . The Mexican railwayaffords frequent communication with the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz, and a short line (42 m.) connects with Ingenio, an industrial village . Orizaba stands in a fertile, well-watered, and richly wooded valley of the Sierra Madre Oriental, 4025 ft. above sea-level, and about 18 m . S. of the snow-crowned volcano that bears its name . It has a mild, humid and healthful climate . The public edifices include the parish church of San Miguel, a chamber of commerce, a handsome theatre, and some hospitals . The city is the centre of a rich agricultural region which produces sugar, rum, tobacco and Indian corn . In colonial times, when tobacco was one of the crown monopolies, Orizaba was one of the districts officially licensed to produce it . It is also a manufacturing centre of importance, having good water power from the Rio Blanco and producing cotton and woollen fabrics . Its cotton factories are among the largest in the republic .

Paper is also made at Cocolapan in the canton of Orizaba . The forests in this vicinity are noted for orchids and ferns . An Indian town called Ahuaializapan, subject to Aztec rule, stood here when Cortes arrived on the coast . The Spanish town that succeeded it did not receive its charter until 1774, though it was one of the stopping-places between Vera Cruz and the capital . In 1862 it was the headquarters of the French .