Anáhuac

Anáhuac (Aztec, “country by the waters”), once thought to have been the name of an ancient Native American kingdom in Mexico, and formerly applied to the section of New Spain that became independent of Mexico in 1821. The name now refers to either the whole central plateau of Mexico or the valley in which Mexico City is located. The height of the Mexican plateau varies from about 1,800 to 2,400 m (6,000 to 8,000 ft) above sea level; the great volcano of Popocatépetl rises from it. The plateau, which comprises three-fifths of Mexico, is bounded on the east and west by two cordillera mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental.