Tampico

Tampico, a seaport of Mexico, in the state of Tamaulipas, on the Panuco, 9 miles from its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, and about 200 (by rail, via San Luis Potosi, 637) miles NNE. of Mexico. Harbour-works were undertaken in 1889 to clear a channel, with the help of two jetties thrown out some 5000 feet, over the bar at the river-mouth, and permit ships drawing 24 feet to enter; at the entrance is an iron lighthouse 141 feet high. Situated on a small hill, with flat-roofed white houses and a fine cathedral, Tampico is much healthier than Vera Cruz, whose trade it threatens in time to draw away. Pop. 5000. See Longman's Magazine, July 1891.