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 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 ...

mountain range. The park is named after Basaseachic Falls (Cascada de Basaseachic) the second tallest waterfall in Mexico with a height of 246 meters (853 ft). Basaseachic Falls empties into Candameña Canyon (Barranca de Candameña) 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).

History

Basaseachic Falls were discovered by Europeans sometime in the 18th century, becoming one of the most popular tourist attraction of the state of Chihuahua. The area of the present-day national park was inhabited by Tarahumara prior to the Spanish Colonial period. The etymology of the name "Basaseachic" originates from the Tarahumara language,

Rarámuri The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability. Originally, inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri re ...

meaning "place of the waterfall". The first known European settlement in the area was ''Misión de Tomochi'' near the town of Cajurichi which was under the legal jurisdiction of the mission. After the 18th century, the area attracted many settlers because of the discovery of abundant natural resources like minerals and high-quality wood. Basaseachic Falls National Park was created by the Mexican federal government on February 2, 1981, by decree under president Jose Lopez Portillo. The park was defined to 5,803 hectares (14,340 acres) in the

along the surrounding area of the Basaseachic Falls and'' Barranca de Candameña.''

Geography

The park is located in the subdivision of the Sierra Madre Occidental known as Sierra Tarahumara, near the municipality of Ocampo, Chihuahua. The dramatic topology was created by deep tectonic plate movements causing large fractures and rising rifts. The violent movement of the terrain resulted in deep canyons and high mountains. The present-day topology has been changed over thousands of years by wind erosion and the Basaseachic River. The vertically pronounced walls of the Candameña Canyon can reach a height of 1,640 meters (5,380 ft); Candameña Canyon is known as one of the deepest canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara. The park includes two rivers: Duraznos River and Basaseachic River; both rivers feed into Basaseachic Falls that empties into the Candameña Canyon finally ending in the Candameña River.

Climate

Basaseachic Falls National Park in the winter

The climate in the park changes depending on the elevation of the terrain. There are many microclimates in the park due to the different terrain. According to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

the following climates occur in the park. *Under 700 meters (2,296 ft) above sea level: BSh Semi-arid climate with annual average minimum of 17 °C (63 °F) and maximum of 39 °C (103 °F). With a wet season in the late summer and fall. *From 700-1,300 meters (2,296-4,265 ft) above sea level: Cw'a Humid Subtropical climate with a high annual temperature reaching near 29 °C (84 °F) in the summer with a winter dry season mild temperatures rarely falling below 0 °C (32 °F). Monsoons come in the late summer and into the fall with an average 50 cm (20 in). *From 1,300-1,700 meters (4,265-7,218 ft) above sea level: Cfa Humid Subtropical climate has warm humid summers and an average summer temperature of 20 °C (68 °F). The summer average precipitation is 70 cm (28 in) mostly in the months of: July, August, and September. From November to March there are many rainstorms and snowstorms caused by high elevation and prominent cold fronts. Winter temperatures can reach a low of -16 °C (3 °F). *From 2,200-2,800 meters (7,217-9,186 ft) above sea level:Dfa Humid Continental climate has warm summers reaching a maximum temperature of 28 °C (82 °F) and summer lows of 10 °C (50 °F). Heavy rainstorms are observed from July to September. Winters are cold reaching a maximum low of -20 °C (-4 °F) and a maximum high of -8 °C (17 °F). During the winter months, many snowstorms are observed with typically 1 meter (~3 ft) of snow per season. *Over 2,800 meters (9,186 ft) above sea level: Dfb Humid Continental climate is found only in the extremely high elevations of the peaks of the

. Summers are cool with temperatures rarely reaching 25 °C (77 °F) and summer lows fall below 10 °C (50 °F) regularly. There are heavy rainstorms from June to October. Winters are very cold with maximum high reaching 0 °C (32 °F) and reaching a maximum low of -31 °C (-24 °F). Winter snowstorms with high winds are common and typically over 1 meter (~3 ft) of snow per season.

Flora and fauna

The park has a great diversity in flora found in Northern Mexico. One of the factors that allows the park to have such a great variety of flora is due to the large number of microclimates found in the park due to dramatic terrain. The flora in the park like that found throughout the

mountain range varies with elevation. Pine (''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'') and oak (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

'') species are usually found at an elevation of 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) above sea level. The park contains 92 species of conifers and 76 species of oaks. A large number of flora species in the following genus are observed in the park: ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

Vachellia ''Vachellia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus '' Acacia'' until 2009. ''Vachellia'' ...

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonfl ...

, Acacia,

Lysiloma ''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Baham ...

Bursera ''Bursera'' is a genus with about 100 described species of flowering shrubs and trees varying in size up to high. It is the type genus for Burseraceae. The trees are native (often for many species endemic) to the Americas, from the southern Uni ...

Vitex ''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae.List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below). It has ...

Tabebuia ''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families ...

Sideroxylon ''Sideroxylon'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning "iron", and ...

Cordia ''Cordia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while ''bocote ...

, Fouquieria,

Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which ...

''. The park also supports a large variety of fauna including a significant number of mammals, reptiles and birds. The mammals that can be found in the park include: Mexican fox squirrel ''( Sciurus nayaritensis)'', antelope jackrabbit ''( Lepus alleni)'', raccoon ''(

Procyon lotor The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

)'', hooded skunk ''(

Mephitis macroura The hooded skunk (''Mephitis macroura'') is a species of mammal in the family Skunk, Mephitidae. ''Mephītis'' in Latin means "foul odor", μακρός (''makrós'') in Greek translates to "long" and οὐρά (''ourá'') translates to "tail". ...

)'', wild boar ''( Sus scrofa)'', collared peccary ''( Pecari tajacu)'', white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus), cougar ''(

Puma concolor The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere ...

)''. The three main species of reptiles found in the park are: Texas horned lizard ''(

Phrynosoma cornutum The Texas horned lizard (''Phrynosoma cornutum'') is one of about 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards, all belonging the genus ''Phrynosoma''. It occurs in south-central regions of the US and northeastern Me ...

)'', rock rattlesnake ''( Crotalus lepidus)'', black-tail rattlesnake ''(

Crotalus molossus The black-tailed rattlesnake (''Crotalus molossus'') is a venomous pit viper species found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Four subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Taxonomy A recent ...

)''. There is a great variety of birds observed in the park including: Mexican jay ''(

Aphelocoma ultramarina The jay (''Aphelocoma ultramarina'') is a bird endemic to Mexico. Description It is a medium-large (~120 g) passerine bird similar in size to most other jays, with a blue head, blue-gray mantle, blue wings and tail, gray breast and underparts. ...

), Steller's jay ''(

Cyanocitta stelleri Steller's jay (''Cyanocitta stelleri'') is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay found in eastern North America. It is also known as the long-crested jay, mountain jay, and p ...

)'', acorn woodpecker ''( Melanerpes formicivorus)'', canyon towhee (''Pipilo fuscus''), mourning dove ''( Zenaida macroura)'', broad-billed hummingbird ''( Cynanthus latirostris)'', Montezuma quail ''(

Cyrtonyx montezumae The Montezuma quail (''Cyrtonyx montezumae'') is a stubby, secretive New World quail of Mexico and some nearby parts of the United States. It is also known as Mearns's quail, the harlequin quail (for the male's striking pattern), and the fool qu ...

)'', mountain trogon ''( Trogon mexicanus)'', turkey Vulture ''( Cathartes aura)''. ''Trogon mexicanus'' is endemic species found in the mountains in Mexico; it is considered an endangered species and has symbolic significance to Mexicans. File: MountainLion.jpg, Mountain Lion ''(

)'' File: Crotalus molossus molossus CDC.png, Black-tail rattlesnake ''(

)'' File: Stellers jay - natures pics.jpg, Steller's jay ''(

)'' File:Trogon elegansAQBIP02CA.jpg, '' Trogon mexicanus'' is known as the Mexican flag bird because it resembles the colors on the Mexican flag.

References

External links

Reportaje turístico sobre la barranca de Candameña en la web de Méxicodesconocido.com
{{authority control Protected areas of Chihuahua (state) Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Occidental National parks of Mexico Sinaloan dry forests