Sierra de San Carlos, also known as the Sierra Chiquita, is an isolated mountain range in the state of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
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 climate is semi-arid. The highest point is ''Cerro El Hongo'' with an elevation of at a location of 24° 34′ 20″ North Latitude and 99° 04′ 24″ West Longitude.
Most of the San Carlos range is much lower, averaging to in elevation.
Geography
The Sierra de San Carlos (Spanish for Saint Charles Mountain Range), southeast of the city of
Linares, Mexico is about east to west and north to south. It covers a total area of 896 square miles (2,320 km
2). The Sierra is located between 24 and 25 north latitude and 98 30 and 99 10 west longitude. Elevation ranges from .
No major highways or rivers cross the Sierra, nor are there any large towns or cities. The population is rural or resides in small villages.
Flora and fauna
Five types of vegetation cover have been identified in the Sierra. Desert thorn shrub (
Tamaulipan matorral
The Tamaulipan matorral is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico. It is a transitional ecoregion between the Tamaulipan mezquital and the Sierra Mad ...
) is the most common vegetation in northeastern Mexico and covers the driest areas in the Sierra up to 1,600 feet (300 to 500 m) in elevation. A thorn forest mixed with grassland is found at altitudes of . A low deciduous forest averaging about in height covers the hillsides at elevations of . In the cooler temperatures at the higher altitudes in the Sierra
oak-pine forests are characteristic at elevations of more than . About 13 percent of the total area consists of oak and oak-pine forests.
A small amount of riparian forest mixed with tall grasses is found along streams and near reservoirs. The riparian forests feature species such as
hickory (''Carya palmeri'') more characteristic of the United States than Mexico. Most of the forests in the Sierra are intact, as they are not of sufficient quality to encourage commercial timber harvesting.
["Inventario floristico de la Sierra de San Carlos, Tamps" http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/proyectos/resultados/InfP024.pdf; "Sierra de Tamaulipas: RTP-91" http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/regionalizacion/doctos/rtp_091.pdf, accessed 26 February 2013]
Climate
The Sierra de San Carlos has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation in the Sierra averages about annually. Most precipitation is in the summer between May and October, although winters are not as dry as in much of Mexico. The climate of the hamlet of
San Nicolás is typical of the higher and cooler elevations in the Sierra. The climatic classification of the higher elevations of the Sierra de San Carlos is Cfa (sub-tropical, humid, hot summers) under the
Kőppen Classification system or Crhl under the
Trewartha climate classification
The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...
system. Lower elevations would be BSh (Semi-arid steppe with hot summers).
References
{{reflist
Mountain ranges of Mexico
Landforms of Tamaulipas