ANAHUAC, the name of the great central plateau of Mexico, lying between 15° and 30° N. lat., and 95° and 110° W. long., at an elevation of from 6000 to 9000 feet above the sea. Anahuac comprises three-fourths of the territory of Mexico, including the capital; and although much of its surface is level, many lofty mountains rise out of the table-land, the highest of which is Popocatepetl (17,720 feet), an active volcano. The name Anahuac is also used to designate a much less extensive part of the table-land, as well as that portion of the Rocky Mountains which lies to the south of 40° N. lat. The word itself is said to signify “near the water” in the old Mexican language, and seems to have been at one time the name of several other places in the ancient empire of Mexico.