Sierra de Quila, officially the Sierra de Quila Flora and Fauna Protection Area, is a Mexican Flora and Fauna Protection Area in the state of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It has an area of 15,193 hectares, and is located within six municipalities:

San Martín de Hidalgo San Martín de Hidalgo, formerly San Martín de la Cal, is the largest town and municipal seat of San Martín de Hidalgo Municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. As of 2015, the town had a population of 7,819. It is located 16 km (10 mi ...

Tecolotlán Tecolotlán ( nah, Tecolotlan "place of owls") is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 795.55 km². As of 2005, the municipality had a total population ...

, Cocula, Atengo, Tenamaxtlán, and

Ameca Ameca may refer to: Biology * Ameca (fish), ''Ameca'' (fish), a monotypic ray-finned fish genus in the family Goodeidae, with the only species ''Ameca splendens'' Places in Mexico *Ameca, Jalisco, a city and municipality in central Jalisco *Chiefd ...

. The Sierra de Quila is part of the

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks h ...

, a system of mountains that runs east–west through central Mexico. The Sierra de Quila divides the basin of the

Ameca River The Ameca River ( es, Río Ameca) is a river of some in length in western Mexico. It rises in the Bosque de la Primavera in Jalisco, 23 km to the west of state capital Guadalajara; flows through the city of Ameca; and then forms the bou ...

to the north from that of the

Armería River The Armería River is a river in western Mexico. It originates in central Jalisco, and flows southward through Jalisco and Colima to empty into the Pacific Ocean. See also *List of rivers of Mexico *List of rivers of the Americas by coastline ...

to the south.

History

In the 1950s, the inhabitants of

, with the leadership of Gabriel Agraz García de Alba, founded a grouping that had as its principal objective the prevention of forestal exploitation of the area. From 1970 to 1980, more manifestations regarding the prevention of irrational forestal exploitation took place which pressured the municipality of Tecolotlán to create the Pro-Conservation Committee of the Forests and Springs of the Sierra de Quila which protected the natural resources of the area and prohibited clandestine activities within the area. Sierra de Quila became a "Forested and Faunal Protection Zone" on August 4, 1982. The area was recategorized as a flora and fauna protection area on June 7, 2000, in recognition of its

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and other aspects.

Geography

The Sierra de Quila Flora and Fauna Protection Area contains the springs of La Ciénega, Charco de la Máquina, and Presa del Ahogado; the cascades of Salto de la Campana, Cascada Santa Rosa, Cascada La Ciénega, Salto de Tecolotlán, and Cascada El Columpio; and the viewpoints of

Cerro El Huehuentón The Cerro El Huehuentón ( nah, Huēhuēntōn "little old man") is the highest peak of the Sierra de Quila; it stands at 8,298 ft above sea level. El Huehuentón is located at about a 30-minute drive from Lagunillas, the largest population e ...

, Mirador Tecolotlán, and Piedras Blancas.

Flora and fauna

Pine-oak forests, including pine, oak, and mixed pine and oak forests, are the predominant vegetation at higher elevations, along with smaller areas of

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

Tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

is found at lower elevations.Hernández López, Leticia, Enrique J. Jardel, and Carlos Palomera García (1997). "Protected Areas of Jalisco and Colima". in Aid, Charles S., Michael F. Carter, and A. Townsend Peterson. ''Protected Areas of Western Mexico: Status, Management, and Needs''. Colorado Bird Observatory, September 1, 1997. Accessed 7 September 2021

/ref> It has 28 species of

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

, 90 species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, 15 species of

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

, 5 species of

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

, representing 17% of the vertebrate species registered in the State of Jalisco. Large mammals include

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ' ...

(''Dicotyles tajacu''), and puma (''Puma concolor'').

Conservation

Sierra de Quila was established as a wildlife protection zone on August 4, 1982. It was the more recent and smaller of the two wildlife protection areas in the state, the other being

La Primavera LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

(near

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

). It was re-designated a flora and fauna protection area in 2000, and is managed by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).

References

External links

{{commons cat
Official Website of La Sierra de Quila
Landforms of Jalisco Mountain ranges of Mexico Natural history of Jalisco Protected areas of Jalisco Flora and fauna protection areas of Mexico 1982 establishments in Mexico Protected areas established in 1982 Protected areas of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Jalisco dry forests