The Mexican state of Oaxaca is in the southern part of Mexico, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Oaxaca borders the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, and Chiapas to the east. To the south Oaxaca fronts the Pacific Ocean. The state is located in the mountains and valleys of the Sierra Madre del Sur range. Oaxaca is the historic home of the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples.