The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consist of an almost continuous sequence that form the western "sounds" of North America, Central America, South America, and West Antarctica.
The Madrean pine–oak woodlands are subtropical woodlands found in the mountains of Mexico and the southwestern United States. They are a biogeographic region of the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biomes, located in North America.
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests are a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range from the southwest USA region to the western part of Mexico. They are home to a large number of endemic plants and important habitat for wildlife.
Quercus albocincta is a species of oak tree. It is native to the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico, in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, and Sinaloa. It has also been found in the southernmost part of Baja California Sur.
Quercus conzattii is an oak endemic to Mexico. It is placed in Quercus section Lobatae.
Basaseachic Falls National Park is a national park located in the western side of the state of Chihuahua in the heart of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. The park is named after Basaseachic Falls the second tallest waterfall in Mexico with a height of 246 meters (853 ft). Basaseachic Falls empties into Candameña Canyon which was carved by the Basaseachic River over millions of years. The park is known for its pine-oak forest, rock formations, and scenic views from high cliffs. Cliffs in the park reach an impressive height of 1,640 meters (5,380 ft).
Arbutus arizonica, commonly known as Arizona madrone, is a tree species in the heath family that is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends along the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera from the Madrean Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico south as far as Jalisco. It has been found in Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, and Sinaloa, with one isolated population in Tamaulipas.
Salix taxifolia, the yewleaf or yew-leaf willow, is a species of willow native to all of southern Mexico, also Pacific Coast regions, north to Sinaloa, and in the south Pacific Coast of Mexico into central Guatemala. Scattered populations are also reported from northern Mexico and from the US states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Quercus chihuahuensis, the Chihuahua oak, is a species of oak in the beech family. It is native to the region from extreme western Texas west to Sonora, Mexico, and south to Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. It grows mostly at mid elevations, from 400–2,000 metres above sea level, in forests mixed with various pines and other oaks. It is one of the dominant species of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua and Sonora.
Quercus viminea, the Sonoran oak, or Mexican willow oak, is a North American species of oak. It is native to northwestern and west-central Mexico, primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental. The species range extends just north of the international border into Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona.
Quercus calophylla is a Mesoamerican species of oak tree. It is native to mountain forests of central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It has incorrectly been known as Quercus candicans.
Quercus tuberculata is a species of oak tree which is native to mountains of northeastern and northwestern Mexico. It is placed in Quercus section Quercus.
The Chínipas is river of northwestern Mexico. The Chinipas arises deep in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the state of Chihuahua, and then flows through long rugged canyon systems into the state of Sinaloa until it finally joins the main trunk of the Fuerte River in the western foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Fuerte River then flows westward over the western coastal plain of Sonora to the Pacific Ocean, emerging very near the port of Topolobampo.
Magnolia tarahumara is a species of flowering plant in the family Magnoliaceae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it occurs in scattered locations in the Sierra Madre Occidental of southeastern Sonora, southwestern Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and northwestern Durango.
Papigochic Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected area in Chihuahua state of Mexico. It covers an area of 2227.64 km2 in the eastern Sierra Madre Occidental. To the northwest it adjoins Tutuaca Flora and Fauna Protection Area.
Quercus durifolia, commonly known as encino colorado, is a species of oak tree native to Mexico.
Quercus mcvaughii is a species of oak tree native to Mexico.
Quercus jonesii is a species of oak tree native to Mexico. It is commonly known as palo manzano. It is placed in Quercus section Lobatae.
Campo Verde Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected area in northern Mexico. It covers an area of 1080.67 km2 in northwestern Chihuahua, on the border with Sinaloa. It is at the eastern edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental, where it meets the Chihuahuan Desert.
The Espinazo del Diablo is a region of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the states of Sinaloa and Durango in northwestern Mexico. The region is known its natural beauty and biodiversity, including rare cloud forests, and for a stretch tortuous mountain highway also called the Espinazo del Diablo.
