Sierra Madre Occidental

Sierra Madre Occidental
Mountain Range (cordillera)
Geographical view to Mexico and its mountain ranges Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur.
Country	Mexico
State	Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato
Region	Northern Mexico
Borders on	Sea of Cortez–Pacific-W Altiplanicie Mexicana-E Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt-S (Cordillera Neovolcanica)
Highest point	Cerro Mohinora
- elevation	10,863 ft (3,311 m)
- coordinates	25°57′22″N 107°2′52″W
Length	932 mi (1,500 km), NW x SE
Width	150 mi (241 km), W x E

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.

Setting

Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico

Basaseachic Falls

The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins with the Sierra Madre del Sur and the Eje Volcánico Transversal (Transverse Volcanic Axis) of central Mexico. These mountains are generally considered to be part of the much larger American cordillera.

Sierra Madre means "Mother Range".

This is a dramatic landscape of steep mountains cut through with canyons including Copper Canyon, the deepest in North America. The highest point is probably Cerro Mohinora, located at 25°57′N 107°03′W. Different sources cite its altitude as either 3250 m or 3300 m. However, other mountains at 26°03′N 106°25′W and 23°12′N 104°57′W are of very similar altitude and may be higher.

The climate varies considerably between the northern and southern extents of this long mountain range.

Rivers of the mountains include the Río Grande de Santiago, which is Mexico's longest, and the Humaya River in Sinaloa.

Ecology

The Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests are found at elevations of 1,500–3,000 m (4,900–9,800 ft) throughout the range. This ecoregion is noted for its high biodiversity and large number of endemic species. The Sonoran Desert is found in the northwestern foothills at 1,000–2,000 m (3,300–6,600 ft). The Chihuahuan Desert is found to the northeast and east, the Meseta Central matorral and Central Mexican matorral to the southeast, and the Sinaloan dry forests to the west and southwest.

People

The mountains are home to several indigenous nations speaking Uto-Aztecan languages, including the Tarahumara in the central portion of the range, and the Huichol in the southern part of the range. After 1886, these mountains served as refuge for the remaining Chiricahua Apache known as the Nameless Ones (Nnee Nnaahí) who refused to surrender with Geronimo to U.S. forces.

See also

• Edwin Bustillos