Sierra de Lobos is a mountain range in
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
state of central
Mexico, The mountains rise north of
León. The range is a
protected natural area, and provides surface water, groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, and recreation for the surrounding region.
Geography
The Sierra de Lobos are part of the Sierra Central, a belt of low mountains which extend northwest–southeast through central Guanajuato state. They separate the
Bajío
El Bajío (the ''lowland'') is a cultural and geographical region within the central Mexican plateau which roughly spans from north-west of the Mexico City metropolitan area to the main silver mines in the northern-central part of the country. Thi ...
plain to the south from the higher
Mexican Plateau to the north. The Sierra is part of the
Lerma-
Santiago basin. The
Turbio River, a tributary of the Lerma, drains the southern slopes and runs through León, and the Río San Juan de los Lagos drains the northwestern Sierra.
Flora and fauna
The natural vegetation includes
tropical dry forest, thorn scrub, semi-thorn scrub, and chaparral at lower elevations, and
oak and pine–oak forest at higher elevations.
[
The Sierra is an important habitat for wildlife. 34 mammal species, 181 bird species, and 39 reptile species have been recorded in the Sierra. Native mammals include white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), ]Peters's squirrel
Peters's squirrel (''Sciurus oculatus'') is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' endemic to Mexico. It was first described by the German naturalist and explorer Wilhelm Peters in 1863. Three subspecies are recognised. It is a common species, ...
(''Sciurus oculatus''), and Mexican long-nosed bat (''Leptonycteris nivalis''). Resident and migratory birds include peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
(''Falco peregrinus''), great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), and American wigeon (''Mareca americana''). Native reptiles include the Querétaro dusky rattlesnake (''Crotalus aquilus''), rough-footed mud turtle (''Kinosternon hirtipes''), and mesquite lizard (''Sceloporus grammicus'').[
]
Conservation
The Sierra de Lobos was designated a sustainable use area in 1997. It has an area of 1270.58 km2.[UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Sierra de Lobos from the World Database on Protected Areas. Accessed 27 July 2022]
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References
{{Reflist
Landforms of Guanajuato
Mexican Plateau
Protected areas of Guanajuato