The Sierra de Álamos–Río Cuchujaqui Flora and Fauna Protection Area, also known as the Sierra de Álamos–Río Cuchujaqui Biosphere Reserve, is a protected area and

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in western

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 is located in southeastern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

state, along the boundary with

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

and

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

states.

Geography

The reserve covers an area of 928.9 km². It includes the

Sierra de Álamos Sierra de Álamos is a range of mountains, in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Álamos Municipality of Sonora. References Landforms of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain ranges of Sonora {{NorthAm-mountain-stub ...

and the basin of the Cuchujaqui River, a tributary of the

Fuerte River The Fuerte River is a river in the state of Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico. It flows from headwaters in the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Pacific Ocean in the Gulf of California. Course It begins at the junction of the Rio Verde (also called ...

. UNESC0 2919. "Sierra de Alamos - Río Cuchujaqui Biosphere Reserve, Mexico". Accessed 27 August 2021

/ref> The town of

Álamos Álamos () is a town in Álamos Municipality in the Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Historically an important center of silver mining, the town's economy is now dominated by the tourist sector. Designated a ''pueblo mágico ...

lies at the northern edge of the reserve. The Sierra de Álamos is a western outlier of the

Sierra Madre Occidental 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 C ...

, and the reserve spans the transition from the Sierra to the western coastal plain which lies between the Sierra and the Pacific Ocean.

Biodiversity

The protected area includes a variety of plant communities, from lowland tropical dry deciduous forest and thorn scrub in the lowlands to evergreen pine–oak forest at higher elevation. Riparian forests of ''

Taxodium mucronatum ''Taxodium mucronatum'', commonly known as Montezuma bald cypress, Montezuma cypress, or ahuehuete, is a species of ''Taxodium'' that is primarily native to Mexico and Guatemala, with a few populations in the southwestern United States. Ahuehuet ...

'' grow along the rivers and streams. The lowland dry forests and thorn scrub are at the northern extent of the

Sinaloan dry forests The Sinaloan dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in western Mexico. It is the northernmost ecoregion of the Neotropical realm. Geography The ecoregion covers an area of approximately The dry forests lie in the coastal pla ...

ecoregion, and the area includes the northernmost range of many tropical species, as well as species characteristic of the Sonoran-Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest. The reserve is home to many species of plants, with approximately 1,200 species in 566 genera and 148 families. Native plants include ''

Guaiacum coulteri ''Guaiacum coulteri'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, that is native to western Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It ...

'', ''

Magnolia tarahumara ''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 northw ...

'', '' Brahea aculeata'' palms, and the

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

Dioon sonorense ''Dioon sonorense'' is a species of cycad native to northern 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; ...

''.Matthew Brian Johnson Program Manager and Curator Desert Legume Program, U. o. A., Richard Stephen Felger Executive Director Drylands Institute, T. (2001). ''The Trees of Sonora, Mexico.'' (n.p.): Oxford University Press, USA. There are 557 species of vertebrates in the reserve. Native mammals include the

puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

(''Puma concolor''),

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(''Panthera onca''),

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

(''Leopardus pardalis''),

jaguarundi The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi'') is a wild cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes. The jaguarundi is a medium-sized ...

(''Herpailurus yaguaroundi''), and

neotropical otter The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which o ...

(''Lontra longicaudis''). Native birds include

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

(''Ardea herodias''),

violet-crowned hummingbird The violet-crowned hummingbird (''Ramosomyia violiceps'') is a hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Mexico and the southwestern United States.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of ...

(''Leucolia violiceps''),

eared quetzal The eared quetzal (''Euptilotis neoxenus''), also known as the eared trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is native to streamside pine-oak forests and canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico south to we ...

(''Euptilotis neoxenus''), and

military macaw The military macaw (''Ara militaris'') is a large parrot and a medium-sized macaw that gets its name from its predominantly green plumage resembling a military parade uniform. It is native to forests of Mexico and South America and though conside ...

(''Ara militaris''). The reserve is a stopover for migratory birds like the

Cooper's hawk Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus ''Accipiter'', sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are f ...

(''Accipiter cooperii'') and

willow flycatcher The willow flycatcher (''Empidonax traillii'') is a small insect-eating, neotropical migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. There are four subspecies of the willow flycatcher currently recognized, all of which breed in North America (inc ...

(''Empidonax traillii'').Ramsar Sites Information Service (2010). "Ecosistema Arroyo Verde APFF Sierra de Álamos Río Cuchujaqui". Accessed 29 August 2021

/ref> Native reptiles include the

Gila monster The Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum'', ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, typically slow-moving reptile, up to long, and it is the only v ...

(''Heloderma suspectum''), Río Fuerte beaded lizard (''

Heloderma exasperatum The Rio Fuerte beaded lizard (''Heloderma exasperatum'') is a venomous species of beaded lizard in the family Helodermatidae. It is found in the tropical forests and shrublands of western Mexico, specifically around the Rio Fuerte and Rio Mayo ba ...

''), and

Alamos mud turtle The Alamos mud turtle (''Kinosternon alamosae'') is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. It is endemic to Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of Nort ...

(''Kinosternon alamosae''). The Cuchujaqui River and its tributary streams are home to aquatic animals and plants including the Alamos mud turtle and freshwater shrimp (''

Macrobrachium ''Macrobrachium'' is a genus of freshwater prawns or shrimps characterised by the extreme enlargement of the second pair of pereiopods, at least in the male. Species It contains these species: *'' Macrobrachium acanthochirus'' F. Villalobo ...

'' sp.).

Protection

The area was designated a flora and fauna protection area by the Mexican government in 1996. It was designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2007. In 2010 three streams in the reserve were designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Various economic activities take place in and around the reserve, including open-range cattle raising,

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

, fishing, and forestry. There are initiatives to engage local people in activities related to the conserving both nature and local culture, including community tour operators and eco-tourism, crafts, beekeeping, organic agriculture, and growing local heirloom varieties of corn (known as 'maiz criollo').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra de Alamos-Rio Cuchujaqui Flora and Fauna Protection Area Flora and fauna protection areas of Mexico Biosphere reserves of Mexico Protected areas of Sonora Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Occidental Sinaloan dry forests Ramsar sites in Mexico