Sierra Gorda
| Sierra Gorda | |
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IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve)
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Waterfall in the Sierra Gorda, 2007
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 Location of Sierra Gorda Natural Reserve within Mexico
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| Location | Querétaro, Mexico |
| Nearest city | Jalpan de Serra |
| Coordinates | 21°20′0″N 99°40′0″W / 21.33333°N 99.66667°WCoordinates: 21°20′0″N 99°40′0″W / 21.33333°N 99.66667°W |
| Area | 383,567 ha (947,810 acres) |
| Established | May 19, 1997 |
| Governing body | National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). |
| http://www.sierragorda.net/ | |
The Sierra Gorda is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from the center of the state starting in parts of San Joaquín and Cadereyta de Montes municipalities and covering all of the municipalities of Peñamiller, Pinal de Amoles, Jalpan de Serra, Landa de Matamoros and Arroyo Seco, for a total of 250 km2 of territory. The area is extremely rugged with high steep mountains and deep canyons. As part of the Huasteca Karst, it also contains many formations due to erosion of limestone, especially pit caves known locally as sótanos. The area is valued for its very wide diversity of plant and animal life, which is due to the various microenvironments created by the ruggedness of the terrain and wide variation in rainfall. This is due to the mountains’ blocking of moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, which generally makes the east side fairly moist and the west semiarid scrub brush. Most of the region has been protected in two biosphere reserves, with the one centered in Querétaro established in 1997 and the one centered in Guanajuato established in 2007. The Sierra Gorda is considered to be the far west of the La Huasteca region culturally and it is home to the Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda World Heritage Site.
The region is on a branch of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range and consists of a series of mountain chains that run northwest to southeast, formed 240 million years ago. Most are made of limestone, formed by sea beds from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Later there were intrusions of volcanic rock, especially in the eastern portion in Hidalgo state, from which come the mineral deposits of the area. The limestone has been affected by erosion to form the Huasteca Karst, and the area contains a large number of caverns, and pit caves (sótanos), some of which extend for hundreds of meters in depth. All of the Sierra Gorda is marked by very rugged terrain, which includes canyons and steep mountains. Altitudes range from just 300 meters above sea level in the Río Santa María Canyon in Jalpan to 3,100 m asl at the Cerro de la Pingüica in Pinal de Amoles. The most important elevation in the Hidalgo area is the Cerro Cangandhó which has an altitude of 2,820 m asl. Rainfall also varies greatly from 350 mm to 2,000 mm per year. The micro-environments of the region range from conifer forests, oak forests, mostly found on mountain peaks, banana and sugar cane fields in the deeper canyons. On the east side, there are deciduous forests. On the west side, bordering the Mexican Plateau, there are desert and semi desert conditions, with a variety of cacti and arid scrub brush. Among its mountains are the peaks associated with the Sierra Alta de Hidalgo, the pine forests of Zamoarano, the Extoraz Canyon and the slopes of the Huazmazonta, the inter-mountain valleys where the five missions are found and the rolling hills leading into La Huasteca. The wide variations of altitude and rainfall favor a wide variety of flora and wildlife.
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