- Sierra Madre del Sur
The Sierra Madre del Sur is a
mountain range in southernMexico , extending 1000 km from southernMichoacán east throughGuerrero , to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. It joins with theEje Volcánico Transversal of central Mexico in northern Oaxaca, but is separated from this range further west by the valley of theRío Balsas and its tributary the Río Tepalcatepec.The highest point is 3703 m, located at coord|17|33|N|100|18|W| in central Guerrero.
Although separated from the main part of the Sierra Madre del Sur by the deep canyon of the lower Río Balsas, the mountains of southern Michoacán around
Coalcomán are usually considered part of the Sierra Madre del Sur.Ecology
The range is noted for its very high
biodiversity and large number of endemic species.The
Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests occupy the higher reaches of the range. These forests are part of a chain of pine-oak forests that stretch from the southwestern United States to Costa Rica along theAmerican Cordillera .Lower elevations of the range are covered by tropical dry forests. The
Jalisco dry forests occupy the western end of the range's Pacific slope. TheSouthern Pacific dry forests occupy most of the Pacific slope of the range, from Michoacan in the west through Guerrero and Oaxaca. The basin of the Balsas River, north of the Sierra, is home to theBalsas dry forests .References
External links
* [http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0309_full.html Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests (World Wildlife Fund)]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0309.html Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests (National Geographic)]
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