Llera de Canales is a municipality located in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of Tamaulipas. Also called Llera, the municipality has an area of and a 2010 population of 17,333. The population of the town of Llera is 4,148. Llera was founded December 25, 1748 and later renamed Llera de Canales.

History and economy

Llera was the first Spanish settlement founded in Tamaulipas (then Nuevo Santander), although a few Spaniards already resided in the region. They were clustered around presidios created to protect the frontier from Indian raids. The founder of Llera was Colonel Jose de Escandon, Count of Sierra Gorda. He led a large colonizing mission to Nuevo Santander in 1748 and established the Villa de Santa Maria de Llera. The initial colonists consisted of eleven soldiers and 44 families commanded by Captain Jose de Escajadilla. The economy of the municipality is mostly agricultural with the most important agricultural products being citrus, onions, cattle. and

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

. About one half the cultivated area is irrigated.

Geography

Llera is situated on the banks of the Guayaleyo River, part of the Panuco River system. The Guayalejo is clear and fast-running and is popular for recreation, including

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

. The municipality extends from the plains to the higher elevations of the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

west of the town of Llera. Tamaulipan mezquital, a low growing, thorny shrubland, is the most common vegetation. Most of the municipality has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and warm winters.(BS climate in the Köppen system), although higher elevations are cooler and moister. Freezes are rare at lower elevations, but common in winter at elevations of more than . (173 km²) of the municipality is included in the El Cielo Biosphere, a mountainous area noted for being the northernmost extension in Mexico of the tropical Veracruz moist forests and sub-tropical

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level clo ...

."Comision Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad," http://www2.inecc.gob.mx/publicaciones/libros/2/cielo.html, accessed 23 Dec 2014

References

External links

Gobierno Municipal de Llera
Official website {{Tamaulipas Municipalities of Tamaulipas