Balsas dry forests
Encyclopedia
The Balsas dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest
ecoregion
of southern Mexico
.
. the ecoregion covers an area of 62400 square kilometres (24,092.8 sq mi), extending across portions of Michoacan
, Guerrero
, Mexico
, Morelos
, Puebla
, and Oaxaca
states. The Balsas Valley, and the Balsas dry forests, extend east and west between the ranges of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
to the north and the Sierra Madre del Sur
to the south.
The surrounding mountains are home to pine-oak forests
: the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
to the north and northwest, the Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests
to the south, and the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
to the east. The xeric
Tehuacan Valley matorral
lies to the northeast. The Balsas dry forests meet the coastal Southern Pacific dry forests where the Balsas breaks through the Sierra Madre del Sur on its way to the Pacific Ocean
.
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of southern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Setting
The Balsas dry forests occupy the basin of the Balsas RiverBalsas River
The Balsas River is a major river of south-central Mexico. The basin flows through the states of Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero, and Mexico. The river empties into the Pacific Ocean at Mangrove Point, adjacent to the city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán...
. the ecoregion covers an area of 62400 square kilometres (24,092.8 sq mi), extending across portions of Michoacan
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
, Mexico
Mexico (state)
México , officially: Estado Libre y Soberano de México is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo....
, Morelos
Morelos
Morelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, and Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
states. The Balsas Valley, and the Balsas dry forests, extend east and west between the ranges of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Trans-Mexican volcanic belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the Sierra Nevada , is a volcanic belt that extends 900 km from west to east across central-southern Mexico...
to the north and the Sierra Madre del Sur
Sierra Madre del Sur
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca.-Geography:...
to the south.
The surrounding mountains are home to pine-oak forests
Mesoamerican pine-oak forests
The Mesoamerican pine-oak forests is a composite ecoregion of southern Mexico and Central America, designated by the World Wildlife Fund as one of their Global 200 ecoregions, a list of priority ecoregions for conservation....
: the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.-Setting:...
to the north and northwest, the Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests
Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests
The Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range of southern Mexico.-Setting:...
to the south, and the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests is an ecoregion of southern Mexico, in the Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome. It occupies the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, which lies mostly within the state of Oaxaca, extending north into Puebla and Veracruz states...
to the east. The xeric
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.-Definition and occurrence:...
Tehuacan Valley matorral
Tehuacán Valley matorral
The Tehuacán Valley matorral is a xeric shrubland ecoregion, within the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, in central Mexico.-Setting:The ecoregion occupies the Tehuacán and Cuicatlán valleys, covering parts of Puebla and Oaxaca states. The valleys lie in the rain shadow of the surrounding...
lies to the northeast. The Balsas dry forests meet the coastal Southern Pacific dry forests where the Balsas breaks through the Sierra Madre del Sur on its way to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.