Nuevo León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnweβo leˈon] (listen)) is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a total land area of 64,555 square kilometers (24,771 square miles), Nuevo León is the 13th largest federal entity in Mexico. The state is bordered by Tamaulipas to the east, Coahuila to the west, and both Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi to the south. To the north, it shares an extremely narrow international border with the U.S. state of Texas. The Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge is the only vehicular bridge that connects the United States with the state of Nuevo León. It crosses over the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) between the city of Colombia, Nuevo León, and Laredo, Texas. Nuevo Léon is the seventh largest state in terms of population with an estimated population of 5.78 million people in 2020. The state's most populous city is Monterrey with 1.42 million people; the Monterrey metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area in Mexico with an estimated population of 5.3 million people in 2020. Monterrey is known for being an important industrial, intellectual and financial city in Mexico. Nuevo León's geography is known for englobing three of the most important physiographic provinces of the northeast region. The south end of the Great Plains is considered to start in the northernmost regions of Nuevo León. The region is characterized by the soft hills that dominates the lands neighboring the banks of the Rio Grande. The south and west of the state consists of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, which dominates most of the western scenery. Due to the abrupt shape of the mountains, there are vast valleys in between the mountains. Within these valleys is where the city of Monterrey and its metropolitan area is situated. The Northern Gulf Coastal Plains are located to the east and include low altitude lands; it is classified as an "inclined plain" due to the alluvial land.
