Poza Rica (formally: Poza Rica de Hidalgo) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name means "rich pool", because it was a place known by its abundance of fish; the city gradually grown out of oil well exploration and drilling activities. It shares borders with Papantla, Tuxpan, and Gutiérrez Zamora, and stands on Federal Highway 180. The archaeological zone of El Tajín is located approximately 15km from Poza Rica. The area is intensely tropical, with two popular beaches within one hour, Tuxpan, and Tecolutla.

Whilst the petroleum industry features heavily amongst the industrial landscape in Poza Rica, the city also has a wide variety of other industries. As one of the largest and most populous cities in Veracruz, Poza Rica is an important industrial and commercial center, and central hub for several road transportation lines. The City has seen recently a lot of growth, with several commercial center opening around the city. The city counts with around 500,000 habitants. Mexico's only nuclear power plant (Laguna Verde) is about 300km away, near the state's capital city of Xalapa.