What is "tamaulipas"

Tamaulipas , officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas , is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.

It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the southeast, San Luis Potosí to the southwest and Nuevo León to the west. To the north, it has a 370 km (142.9 mi) stretch of the U.S.–Mexico border along the state of Texas.

The name Tamaulipas is derived from Tamaholipa, a Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies "place (where)". There is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of holipa, but "high hills" is a common interpretation. Another explanation of the state name is that it is derived from Ta ma ho'lipam ("place where the Lipan prey").

In addition to the capital city, Ciudad Victoria, the state's largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico.