The Sierra de Juárez, also known as the Sierra Juarez, is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

located in Tecate Municipality and northern Ensenada Municipality, within the northern Baja California state of northwestern Mexico. It is a major mountain range in the long Peninsular Ranges System, that extends from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

down the Baja California peninsula into Baja California Sur state.

Geography

The Sierra de Juárez begins just south of the international frontier with

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and extends about southwards. The highest peak in the range rises to about elevation at 31° 30′ 34″ North Latitude and 115° 32′ 5″ West Longitude. The Laguna Mountains (U.S.) are on the north, and the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir (México) are on the south. The Sierra forms part of the Baja California Peninsular Ranges. According to the Mexican government agency, CONABIO, the Sierra de Juárez occupies a total area of approximately long and averaging about wide. On the east the Sierra de Juárez rises sharply from the desert valley containing the Laguna Salada Fault, a southern extension of the San Andres Fault. The western slope of the Sierra is more gentle."Sierra de Juárez", http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/regionalizacion/doctos/rtp_012.pdf, accessed 4 Mar 2016 The range is the location of the southern tip of the Great Basin Divide at a triple watershed point of the Great Basin (northern), the Pacific Ocean (western), and Gulf of California (eastern) watersheds. A portion of the Sierra de Juárez is protected within Constitution 1857 National Park, approximately east of Ensenada.Bajaquest.com: Constitution 1857 National Park
/ref> The scenic Laguna Hanson, an important stopover for migratory birds, and the endemic pine-oak forests

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

are within the park.

Ecology

The lower elevations of the western slopes of the Sierra de Juárez are in the California coastal sage and chaparral sub−ecoregion of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. The lower elevations of the eastern slopes are in the Sonoran Desert

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

, with its unique desert flora. The California Fan Palm (''Washingtonia filifera'') is near the southern natural limit of its range in the Sierra de Juárez. The higher elevations of the Sierra de Juárez, with those of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, are in the Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests

. Pine species include Jeffrey pine (''Pinus jeffreyi''), Parry Piñon pine (''Pinus monophylla''), lodgepole pine (''Pinus contorta''), sugar pine (''Pinus lambertini''). Other evergreen species include white fir (''Abies concolor'') and incense cedar (''Calocedrus decurrens''). Sagebrush (''Artemisia tridentata'') is a common shrub of the understory. The coniferous forests of the two mountain ranges comprise a Sky island--an elevated temperate forest surrounded by lower, more arid lands."Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests", World Wildlife Fund, https://web.archive.org/web/20100308052316/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0526.html, accessed 5 Mar 2016

Climate

The western flank of the range lies at the southeastern extremity of the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

region, that extends across much of

and into northwestern Baja California. CONABIO lists the climates (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

) of the Sierra de Juarez as consisting of 30 percent desert (BW), 7 percent steppe (BS), 27 percent mesothermal with precipitation evenly distributed (Cfa, Cfb) throughout the year, and 36 percent Mediterranean (Csa, Csb) with precipitation concentrated in the winter months. The Laguna Hanson weather station has a Csb climate (warm summers, cool winters, precipitation distributed throughout the year), although the climate at this location verges on being Mediterranean with mostly dry summers. In general, as in most mountain ranges, the lower elevations receive less precipitation and the higher elevations receive more precipitation.

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera.''
GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra de Juarez Juarez Peninsular Ranges Geography of Ensenada Municipality Tecate Municipality Important Bird Areas of Mexico

Geography

Ecology

Climate

See also

References