Tabasco Plain, tropical lowland on theGulf of Mexico, inTabasco state, southeasternMexico. Occupying the coastal lowlands south of theIsthmus of Tehuantepec and north of theYucatán Peninsula, the Tabasco Plain is made up of alluvial materials deposited by the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers and is covered withdense, tropical forest. The climate is hot and humid, rainfall is heavy, and lagoons and swamps are common on the low-lying delta lands, where annual floods inundate enormous areas.

The fertile soil of theplain yields crops of bananas, coconuts, cacao, coffee, and sugarcane; various hardwoods are processed. The discovery of abundant reserves of oil in the late 1970s brought a significant influx of people to the once sparsely populated region.

The Tabasco Plain was part of the area within the trading network of theOlmec people between 1100 and 800bce. Their cultural influence had great impact on succeeding peoples (mainly Maya) who settled on the plain. The first Europeans to enter the region wereJuan de Grijalva (1518) andHernán Cortés (1519), but control was not wrested from the Maya by the Spanish for another 20 years and only after bitter fighting. The Tabasco Plain was the scene of more fighting during Mexico’s war with France in the 1860s. Lowland areas are stillinhabited by descendants of theChontal Maya.