•  The Ecology of Northwestern Chihuahua

©Adrie Heisey

Cross-section "A" shows how the land is broken into wide
basins by small ranges. The Rio Casas Grandes and Rio San
Pedro are adjacent to Cerro Juanaqueña.
- This is part of the Mexican Basin and Range Province
- Basin elevations are 1200-1500 m amsl
-The small mountain ranges reach elevations of 2000 m or less

In the project area the principle biotic community is Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands which are a fluctuating continuum from dense grasslands to sparse shrublands. Summer temperatures are hot, winters are mild, and average annual precipitation is 33.4 cm, two-thirds of which falls between July and October.  The image shows Dr. Karen Adams next to a field of Plains lovegrass in the floodplain of the Rio Casas Grandes.

Cerro Juanaqueña lies at the confluence of the Rio Casas Grandes and Rio Pedro in the Northwest corner of Chihuahua, Mexico about 150 miles from El Paso, Texas

The Rio Casas Grandes flows northward from the Sierra Madre Occidental down through the high basin and range country.

Cross-section "B" shows the land rising westward as it merges into the Sierra Madre Occidental.
§ Sierra elevations reach 1500 to 2300 m. 

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