Everything about The Mexican Plateau totally explained
The
Mexican Plateau, also known as the
Mexican Altiplano, is a large plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. It extends from the United States border in the north to the
Cordillera Neovolcánica in the south, and is bounded by the
Sierra Madre Occidental and
Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and east, respectively. A low east-west range divides the plateau into northern and southern sections. These two sections, called the Mesa del Norte and Mesa Central, are now generally regarded by geographers as sections of one plateau. The Mexican Plateau is mostly covered by
deserts and xeric shrublands, with
pine-oak forests covering the surrounding mountain ranges and forming
sky islands on some of the interior ranges. The Mexican Altiplano is one of six distinct physiographic sections of the
Basin And Range Province, which in turn is part of the
Intermontane Plateaus physiographic division.
The Mesa del Norte or northern plateau averages 1,100 meters in elevation and extends south from the
Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) through the states
Chihuahua,
Coahuila,
Durango,
Zacatecas and
San Luis Potosí. Various narrow, isolated ridges cross the Numerous depressions dot the region, the largest of which is the
Bolsón de Mapimí. The Río Bravo del Norte and its tributary, the
Rio Conchos, drain portions of the northern plateau, and the
Panuco River and its tributaries drain the southeastern corner. Both rivers drain to the
Gulf of Mexico. Much of the northern plateau comprises internal drainage basins that don't drain to the sea. The
Chihuahuan Desert extends across the northern portion of the northern plateau, while the
Meseta Central matorral covers the central portion, and the
Central Mexican matorral extends from the southern portion of the northern plateau across the southern plateau.
The Mesa Central or southern plateau is higher than its northern counterpart, averaging 2,000 meters in elevation. The southern plateau contains numerous valleys originally formed by ancient lakes. It extends across the states of
Aguascalientes,
Jalisco,
Zacatecas,
Guanajuato,
Queretaro,
México, and
Hidalgo. Several of Mexico's most prominent cities, including
Mexico City and
Guadalajara, are located in the valleys of the southern plateau. Much of the southern plateau is drained by the
Rio Grande de Santiago and its tributaries, including the
Rio Lerma, which drain east into the
Pacific Ocean. Tributaries of the Panuco River drain the eastern portion of the southern plateau. The Central Mexican matorral covers much of the southern plateau, with the subtropical
Bajío dry forests occupying the lower portions of the Lerma-Rio Grande de Santiago basin.
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