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 Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

. 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

presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

s created to protect the frontier from

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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 ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

. About one half the cultivated area is irrigated.

Geography

Llera is situated on the banks of the Guayaleyo River, part of the

Panuco River Panuco may refer to: ;Places *Pánuco (disambiguation) Pánuco may refer to the following places in Mexico: *Pánuco (province) *Pánuco, Veracruz **Pánuco Municipality, Veracruz *Pánuco, Zacatecas *Pánuco de Coronado Municipality, Durango *Pá ...

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 ...

west of the town of Llera.

Tamaulipan mezquital The Tamaulipan mezquital (), also known as the Brush Country, is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in the Southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It covers an area of , encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern T ...

, 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 The El Cielo Biosphere Reserve (''Reserva de la Biosfera El Cielo'' in Spanish) is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental in the southern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas near the town of Gómez Farias. The reserve protects the northernmost ...

, a mountainous area noted for being the northernmost extension in Mexico of the tropical

Veracruz moist forests The Veracruz moist forests () is a tropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in eastern Mexico. Geography The Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , occupying a portion of Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain between the Sierra Madre Oriental and t ...

and sub-tropical

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

."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