PUEBLA  , a

state of Mexico, occupying the south-east angle of the great central plateau, or that part of it known as the Anahuac table-land . It is bounded N. and E. by the state of Vera Cruz, S. by the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, and W. by the states of Morelos, Mexico, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo . Area, 12,204 sq. m . Pop . (1900), 1,021,133, largely civilized Indians . Lofty mountains overlook the plateau from the north-east and west, three of the highest peaks, Orizaba, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl rising above the permanent snow-line, while another, Malinche, lifts its isolated mass nearly to that limit . In the south the table-land breaks away and long fertile valleys lead downward toward the warm southern plains . The central table-land forms part of the watershed between the eastern and western drainage systems, some of the streams in the north and south-east emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, while the Atoyac, which has its source in Tlaxcala, crosses the state and discharges into the Pacific through the Mescala . Puebla has a temperate, healthful climate, one of the best in Mexico . The soil is generally fertile and the rainfall abundant . Agriculture is the principal industry . The Mexican, Interoceanic and Mexican Southern railways cross the state and afford ample transportation facilities .