Matamoros

The Rio Grande on the border between Brownsville, Texas, U.S. (left), and Matamoros, Mexico.

Matamoros, city, northern Tamaulipas estado (state), northeastern Mexico. It is situated on the southern bank of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), 28 miles (45 km) from the Gulf of Mexico and across from Brownsville, Texas. Matamoros, founded in 1824, was the scene of bitter fighting in the Mexican-American War and was occupied by U.S. troops in 1846. It is now one of Mexico’s chief ports of entry for tourists and for the import and export of goods. The manufacturing and commercial centre of an extensive cotton- and sugarcane-growing area, it has tanneries, cotton mills, and distilleries. Air, rail, and highway connections link Matamoros to Monterrey and Mexico City. Pop. (2010) 449,815; metro. area, 489,193; (2020) 510,739; metro. area, 541,979.