Poza Rica  Poza Rica (), formally: Poza Rica de Hidalgo is a city and its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name means "rich well/pond". It is often thought that the name came to be because it was a place known for its abundance of oil. In reality, before oil was discovered, there existed a pond rich in fish, which gave origin to the city’s name. In the last century oil was discovered in the area. It has since been almost completely extracted. This has resulted in the decline of oil well exploration and drilling activities, though there are still many oil facilities. The city shares borders with the municipalities of Papantla, Tihuatlán, and Coatzintla, and stands on Federal Highway 180. The archaeological zone of El Tajín is located approximately from Poza Rica. The area is tropical, with two beaches within one hour, Tuxpan, and Tecolutla, and one within 40 minutes east, Cazones. Mexico City is about from Poza Rica.Unlike most Mexican cities, it does not have old buildings because it is a new city founded officially on November 20, 1951. For that reason it has contemporary architecture with well-lined and designed streets with a modern look. While the petroleum industry features heavily amongst the industrial landscape in Poza Rica, the city also has a wide variety of other industries with a large middle class. As one of the largest and most populous cities in Veracruz, Poza Rica is an important industrial and commercial center, and a central hub for several road transportation lines. The city has recently seen much growth, with several shopping malls opening around the city. The city had an official population of 174,512 inhabitants and the municipality had 181,438 at the census of 2005. However, the Poza Rica metropolitan area, which includes the municipalities of Papantla, Tihuatlán, and Coatzintla, showed a total population of 458,330. Poza Rica is close to the Costa Esmeralda, the northern beaches of Veracruz, such as Tecolutla, Tuxpan, Cazones and Playa Esmeralda. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of El Tajin is away. The downtown area presents shopping opportunities. It has a high viewing point called "El cerro del abuelo" where it's possible to see the whole city and its "quemadores", big petroleum burners which were used to light the city in the early years.