The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 01 Pabellón is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in central Mexico. It covers a portion of the

Sierra Fría The Sierra Fría is a mountain range in central Mexico. It forms the northwestern border of Aguascalientes state and extends into adjacent Zacatecas, west of the city of Aguascalientes City, Aguascalientes. Geography The Sierra Fría is the sout ...

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

and

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

states.

Geography

The protected area consists of two separate blocks of land totaling 977 km² in the

, which is the south-easternmost range 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 ...

where it meets the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

. The protected area includes the eastern portion of the Sierra Fría lying in the basin of the Río Verde. It adjoins the

Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit is a protected natural areas of Mexico, protected natural area in west-central Mexico. It extends across portions of southern Sierra Madre Occidental and the westernmost ...

on the west, which covers the portion of the Sierra Fría drained by the

Juchipila River The Juchipila River is a river of Mexico. It is a tributary of the Río Grande de Santiago. See also *List of rivers of Mexico This is a list of rivers of Mexico, listed from north to south. There are 246 rivers on this list. Alternate names for ...

. Both the Verde and Juchipila are southward-flowing tributaries of the

Río Grande de Santiago The Río Grande de Santiago, or Santiago River, is a river in western Mexico. It flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in Mexic ...

. The protected area covers portions of the municipalities of

Calvillo Calvillo () is a city in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. The town serves as the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of Calvillo. Calvillo is the second most populated city in the state, surpassed in importance only by the capital ...

, Jesús María,

Pabellón de Arteaga Pabellón de Arteaga is a city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Aguascalientes. It stands at in the central part of the state. The city serves as the municipal seat of the municipality of Pabellón de Arteaga (municipality), Pabellón de Arteaga. ...

Rincón de Romos Rincón de Romos is a municipality and city in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Located in the northern part of the state, the city serves as the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality Rincón de Romos. As of 2010, the city had a to ...

, San José de Gracia,

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

, Genaro Codina, Guadalupe, Ojocaliente, and Villanueva.SIMEC-CONANP. "CADNR 001 Pabellón". Accessed 6 September 2021
/ref>

Flora and fauna

The natural vegetation at higher elevations is pine–oak forest and woodland, with pines and/or oaks as the dominant trees, together with manzanillo (''

Arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

'' spp.),

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, and other plants. The forests vary with rainfall, altitude, and soils, and are home to numerous plant and animal species, including some endemic and limited-range species. Areas that have been logged are covered in thickets of manzanillo, and montane grasslands occur on canyon slopes.Wilson, Larry David, and James R. McCranie. (1979) “Notes on the Herpetofauna of Two Mountain Ranges in México (Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes, and Sierra Morones, Zacatecas).” ''Journal of Herpetology'', vol. 13, no. 3, 1979, pp. 271–278. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1563318. Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.

Matorral 300px, Springtime in Santiago.html" ;"title="Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago">Chilean matorral a few kilometers north of Santiago along the Pan-American Highway Matorral is a Spanish language, Spanish word, along with ''tomil ...

(dry shrubland) is found at lower elevations. Wildlife includes

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus''), puma (''Puma concolor''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Peccary, Tayassuidae found in North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the gen ...

(''Dicotyles tajacu''),

ringtail The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well-adapted to its distributed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. Globally, it is list ...

(''Bassariscus astutus''),

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''),

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 pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

(''Falco peregrinus''),

Montezuma quail 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 ...

(''Cyrtonyx montezumae''), and the snakes '' Crotalus polystictus'' and ''

Crotalus triseriatus :''Common names: Mexican dusky rattlesnake,Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp. 1500 plates. . dusky rattlesnake Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living ...

''."Sierra Fría, Aguascalientes". turimexico.com. Accessed 6 September 2021

/ref>

Conservation

The area was designated a protected forest area and watershed in August 1949. It was redesignated a Natural resources protection areas of Mexico, Natural resources protection area in 2002. Camping, hiking, nature walks, horseback riding, and mountain biking are permitted, and hunting and sport fishing are permitted with prior permission.

References

{{reflist Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Occidental Protected areas of Aguascalientes Protected areas of Zacatecas Natural resources protection areas of Mexico