The Cerro de Chipinque is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

in the

San Pedro Garza García San Pedro Garza García ''(''also known as San Pedro or Garza García'')'' is a city-municipality of the Mexican state of Nuevo León and part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area. It is a contemporary commercial suburb of the larger metropolitan c ...

, Monterrey and Santa Catarina municipalities; state of Nuevo León,

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 ...

. The mountain is part of the Sierra Madre Oriental range and the

Cumbres de Monterrey National Park The Cumbres de Monterrey ( es, Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey, ; English: "Summits of Monterrey") is a national park of Mexico located in the northern portion of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the states of Nuevo León and Coahuila, near the c ...

. The summit reaches 2,229

meters above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The com ...

. The mountain is a symbol for the Monterrey metropolitan area. The mountain is surrounded by Santa Catarina valley, San Pedro valley, mount El Mirador, la Silla river, Ballesteros Canyon and

La Huasteca La Huasteca is a geographical and cultural region located partially along the Gulf of Mexico and including parts of the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Guanajuato. It is roughly defined as the area ...

canyon. The “Parque ecológico Chipinque” is on the north slope of the mountain. The mountain's name is believed to have originated from the nahualt word "chichipinqui" meaning small rain or from the name of an indigenous chief. File:La m 3.jpg, La eme seen from the plateau of Chipinque Park. File:La m 4.jpg, La eme seen from a hotel at the plateau. File:Cerro Chipinque.png, El Pinar seen from Chipinque

History

Though this area's beauty was widely known, it wasn't an Ecological Park until 1992, when a board of trustees made up of the government of the State of Nuevo León and a private initiative was formalized. It was also known as an obligatory destination for most

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

enthusiasts, as the typical northern habitat and biodiversity made it unique. The mission of this park is to maintain biodiversity in the area, by means of controlling the use of natural resources responsibly. Chipinque is open every day of the year, from 6am to 8pm local time. Most of the park is open to all people, though authorization and a guide are needed to climb some of the higher peaks. The park's staff consists of 22 forest rangers.

Geography

Cerro de Chipinque is in the Sierra Madre Oriental, within the bounds of

. It has a land area of 1625 hectares though only about 300 of these are open to the general public. With altitudes ranging from 800m to around 2200m above sea level, the tallest peak is known as Copete de las Aguillas, which is Spanish for crest of the eagles. The main crest is about 17 km long.

Biology and ecology

Flora

This area is defined mainly by the large coniferous forest. Some of the plants there are Garrya, Huizche otherwise known as Sweet Acacia, American Agave, Encino Duraznillo and

Oak 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 ''L ...

Fauna

This area's fauna consists mainly of large mammals and birds. Some of the mammals are Coyotes,

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

Coati Coatis, also known as coatimundis (), are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera ''Nasua'' and ''Nasuella''. They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The name ...

White tail 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 ...

and the

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

. Some of the birds are

Red-tailed Hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

Turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...

Wild Turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

, Mountain pygmy owl,

Bronzed cowbird The bronzed cowbird (''Molothrus aeneus''), once known as the red-eyed cowbird, is a small icterid. They breed from the U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana south through Central America to Panama. They tend to be ...

and the Blue-capped motmot. Some of the reptiles are

spiny lizard Spiny lizards is a common name for the genus ''Sceloporus'' in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus is endemic to North America, with various species ranging from New York, to Washington, and one occurring as far south as northern Panama. Köh ...

Texas alligator lizard There are two species of lizard named Texas alligator lizard: * '' Gerrhonotus liocephalus'' * ''Gerrhonotus infernalis The Texas alligator lizard (''Gerrhonotus infernalis'') is a species of lizard in the subfamily Gerrhonotinae of the family ...

s, and Blacktail cribos. The park stands out for its multitude of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

species.

Climate

The average temperature of Chipinque is 20 °C, with an average yearly rain being 860mm. This area is mainly a subhumid

temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers abou ...

and submontane scrubland. The forests are mainly

pine 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 accepts ...

s and

oak 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 ''L ...

References

{{Reflist Rock formations of Mexico Landmarks in Monterrey Landforms of Nuevo León North American 2000 m summits