Mexico - Cuatrociénegas Flora and Fauna Protection Area

The territory of this reserve extends mainly to the lower and flat part of the Cuatrociénegas valley, at an altitude of about 740 meters above sea level; it can, however, reach 2 100 meters in the Sierra de la Madera located in the northwestern part of the reserve. This valley includes canyons and vast furrows, alluvial plains saturated with salts, some low hills, and a large area of ​​gypsum dunes, unique in its kind in Mexico. The hydrological complex that exists in this area is interconnected mainly underground, but also by rivers and artificial canals on the surface. There are about five hundred springs forming bodies of water, swamps, rivers and streams, marshes and lagoons of various sizes and depths. The site looks like an aquarium in the Mexican desert; it is also a place for basic research and applied research, educational activities at all levels, and recreation in the open air. The valley has practically not changed in over 12,000 years. The geographical isolation caused by the mountains surrounding it has favored the independent evolution of various groups of organisms.