Jalisco - Geography and Environment

Geography and Environment

With a total area of 78,599km2, Jalisco is the seventh largest state in Mexico, accounting for 4.1% of the country’s territory. The state is in the center west of the country, bordering the states of Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Colima and Michoacán with 342 km of coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Jalisco is made up of a diverse terrain that includes forests, beaches, plains and lakes. Altitudes in the state vary from between 0 and 4,300 meters above sea level from the coast to the top of the Nevado de Colima . The Jalisco area contains all five of Mexico’s natural ecosystems: arid and semi arid scrublands, tropical evergreen forests, tropical deciduous and thorn forests, grasslands and mesquite grasslands and temperate forests with oaks, pines and firs. Over 52% of the bird species found in Mexico live in the state, with 525, 40% of Mexico’s mammals with 173 and 18% of its reptile species. There are also 7,500 species of veined plants. One reason for its biodiversity is that is lies in the transition area between the temperate north and tropical south. It also lies at the northern edge of the Sierra Madre del Sur and is on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, which provides a wide variety of ecological conditions from tropical rainforest conditions to semi arid areas to areas apt for conifer forests.

Its five natural regions are Northwestern Plains and Sierras, Sierra Madre Occidental, Central Plateau, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, which covers most of the state and the Sierra Madre del Sur. It has an average altitude of 1550 MASL, but ranges from 0 to over 4000 MASL. Most of the territory is semi flat of between 600 and 2,050 MASL, followed by rugged terrain of between 900 to about 4300 MASL and a small percentage of flat lands of between 0 and 1,750 MASL. Principle elevations include the Nevado de Colima, the Volcan de Colima, the Sierra El Madroño, the Tequila Volcano, the Sierra Tapalpa, Sierra Los Huicholes, Sierra San Isidro, Sierra Manantlán, Cerro El Tigre, Cerro García, Sierra Lalo, Sierra Cacoma, Cerro Gordo, Sierra Verde and the Sierra Los Guajolotes.

Jalisco’s rivers and streams eventually empty into the Pacific Ocean and are divided into three groups: the Lerma/Santiago River and its tributaries, rivers that empty directly into the Pacific and rivers in the south of the state. Jalisco has several river basins with the most notable being that of the Lerma/Santiago River, which drains the northern and northeastern parts of the state. The Lerma River enters extends from the State of Mexico and empties into Lake Chapala on the east side. On the west, water flows out in the Santiago River, which crosses the center of Jalisco on its way to the Pacific, carving deep canyons in the land. Tributaries to the Santiago River include the Zula, the Verde River, the Juchipila and the Bolaños. About three quarters of the state’s population lives near this river system. In the southwest of the state, there are a number of small rivers that empty directly into the Pacific Ocean. The most important of these is the Ameca, with its one main tributary, the Mascota River. This river forms the state’s border with Nayarit and empties into the Ipala Bay. The Tomatlán, San Nicolás, Purificación, Marabasco-Minatitlán, Ayuquila, Tuxcacuesco, Armería and Tuxpan rivers flow almost perpendicular to the Pacific Ocean and drain the coastal area. Another river of this group is the Cihuatlán River, which forms the boundary between Jalisco and Colima emptying into the Barra de Navidad Bay. The southeastern corner belongs to the Balsas River basin. This includes the Ayuqila and Tuxcacuesco, which join to form the Armería and the Tuxpan.

The other main surface water is Lake Chapala, and is the largest and most important freshwater lake in Mexico, accounting for about half of the country’s lake surface.. The lake acts as a regulator of the flow of both the Lerma and Santiago Rivers. There are a number of seasonal and salty lakes linking to form the Zacoalco-Sayula land-locked system. There are other smaller lakes called Cajititlán, Sayula, San Marcos, and Atotonilco. Dams include the Cajón de Peña, Santa Rosa, La Vega, Tacotán and Las Piedras. Jalisco’s surface water accounts for fifteen percent of the surface freshwater in Mexico.

In 1986, four beaches in Jalisco were designated as federal marine turtle sanctuaries: El Tecuán, Cuitzmala, Teopa and Playón de Mismaloya, with an extension of eight km. Playa Majahuitas is 27 km southwest of Puerto Vallarta with a rugged coastline, numerous inlets and outcroppings. The Cañon Submarino underwater canyon is located offshore. Chamela Bay has the greatest number of islets in Mexico, many of which are inhabited by numerous bird species.

Jalisco has eight areas under conservation measures totaling 208,653.8 hectares. Two contains scientific research centers. These areas cover 4.8% of the state and only one, the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere accounts for sixty percent of all legally protected land at 139,500 hectares. The other protected areas include the Chamela-Cuitzmala Bioshere Reserve (13,143 hectares), Nevado de Colima National Park (10,143 hectares), Bosque de la Primavera (30,500 hectares), Sierra de Quila (15,1923 hectares) and the Marine Turtle Protection Zone (175.8 hectares) .

Thirteen plant communities are present in the state. Forty five to fifty percent of the state is characterized by deciduous and sub-deciduous forests. They occur along the coastal plains as well as in canyons in the central part of the state from sea level to 1600masl. Some areas, scattered within the tropical sub-deciduous forest along the coastal plains, are dominated by palms. Conifer and oak forests are most common in the highlands between 800 and 3,400masl, covering about one fourth of the state’s surface. One major conifer and oak forest is the Primavera Forest. Pine dominated areas in lower elevations are only found in the western corner of the state. Cloud and fir-dominated forests are restricted to ravines and protected steep slopes within the conifer and oak forest zones. Jalisco’s cloud forests include the Bosque de Maples and those on El Cerro de Manantlán. Savannas are found between 400 and 800 masl in the area the slopes towards the Pacific Ocean. These grasslands are a transition area between the tropical sub-deciduous forest and oak forest. The thorn forest includes an area of the coastal plains in the western part of the state as well as an area dominated by mesquite within the tropical deciduous forest. Grasslands are restricted to the northeastern corner interspersed with xerophilous scrub. There are mangroves along the ocean where waves are gentle. Beach and frontal dune vegetation dominates the rest of the coastline.

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