View source for Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca

{{Short description|Range of mountains in Oaxaca state, Mexico}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name              = Sierra Juárez
| other_name        =
| photo             = Yagila.JPG
| photo_caption     = Sierra Juarez, view from San Juan Yagila in the Rincón de Ixtlan Region, Oaxaca, Mexico
| highest           =
| elevation_m       = 3250
| coordinates       =
| map_image         = Papaloapanrivermap.png
| map_caption       = [[Papaloapan River]] drainage basin showing Sierra Juarez in the [[Sierra Madre de Oaxaca]]
| country           = [[Mexico]]
| region            = [[Oaxaca]]
| range_coordinates = {{coord|17|35|N|96|40|W|type:mountain_region:MX_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| parent            = [[Sierra Madre de Oaxaca]]
| border            =
| length_orientation =
| width_orientation =
| geology           =
| period            =
| orogeny           =
}}
The '''Sierra Juárez''' is a range of mountains in [[Oaxaca]] state, [[Mexico]] between latitudes 17°20'-17°50'N and longitudes 96°15'-97°00'W, with an area of about {{convert|1,700|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. It is part of the [[Sierra Madre de Oaxaca]]. The range is separated from the Sierra de [[Zongólica]] to the north by the [[Santo Domingo River (Oaxaca)|Santo Domingo River]], flowing through the Tecomavaca Canyon. It stretches south-eastward to the [[Cajones River]] and the Sierra de [[San Ildefonso Villa Alta|Villa Alta]].<ref name=smithsonian>{{cite web|url=http://persoon.si.edu/projects/cpd/ma/ma3.htm|title=SIERRA DE JUAREZ, OAXACA|publisher=Smithsonian|accessdate =2010-07-03|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616000734/http://persoon.si.edu/projects/cpd/ma/ma3.htm|archivedate=2011-06-16}}</ref> The mountains are in the district of [[Ixtlán de Juárez]] in the [[Sierra Norte de Oaxaca]] region. The range is named after Mexico's only indigenous president, [[Benito Juárez]], who was born here in 1806 in the small village of [[San Pablo Guelatao]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zedillo.presidencia.gob.mx/welcome/PAGES/culture/note_21mar.html|title=Juárez' Birthday|work=Sistema Internet de la Presidencia|accessdate=2010-07-03}}</ref> The heavily wooded area is about {{convert|62|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Oaxaca, Oaxaca|the city of Oaxaca]] on Federal highway 175, heading towards [[Tuxtepec]].<ref name="MexDesOax">{{cite journal|last=Quintanar Hinojosa|first=Beatriz|date=August 2007|title=La Sierra Norte|journal=Guía México Desconocido: Oaxaca|volume=137|pages=36–37|url= http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx}}</ref>
==Terrain and climate==
The mountains climb from {{convert|500|to|3,250|m|ft|abbr=on}}, with many large and deep ravines. They are formed of folded sedimentary rocks with series of younger granitic intrusions that date from the [[Palaeozoic]] to [[Cenozoic]], with the majority being [[Mesozoic]]. The climate is subtropical in the lower regions and temperate and subhumid above {{convert|1,000|m|ft|abbr=on}}, with average temperature from {{convert|16|to|20|C|F}}. There is regular frost in the higher mountains. Annual rainfall, fed by the trade winds from the [[Caribbean Sea]], ranges from {{convert|700|to|4000|mm|in|abbr=on}} or more.<ref name=smithsonian/> The [[Valle Nacional River]] originates in the Sierra de Juárez, one of the major tributaries of the [[Papaloapan River]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.pinguicula.org/pages/plantes/pinguicula_hemiepiphytica.htm
|title=''Pinguicula hemiepiphytica''
|work=A world of Pinguicula
|accessdate=2010-07-03}}</ref>
==Vegetation==
The Sierra Juárez is one of Oaxaca State's wettest areas and richest in forest diversity, with perhaps 2,000 of the 8,000 or more plant species that are found in the state.
It is mostly covered by montane [[cloud forest]], but includes tropical evergreen forests and forests of pine, pine-oak and oak. The cloud forest forms a band from {{convert|1,000|–|1,400|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, up to {{convert|2,250|m|ft|abbr=on}} along the northern and eastern slopes. The climate is cool, {{convert|14|-|20|C|F}}, and has mean annual rainfall that exceeds {{convert|2,000|mm|in|abbr=on}} and is sometimes much higher. The dominant trees are {{convert|20|–|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and include evergreen and deciduous species, palms, [[tree ferns]], [[Ericaceae|heather]] shrubs, vines, and moisture-loving herbs.<ref name=smithsonian/>
[[File:Bosque Cajonos.JPG|thumb|left|Temperate Pine Forest on the road between San Isidro and San Miguel Llano Grande Cajonos, Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico]]
The tropical evergreen forest is dominated by evergreen trees {{convert|30|-|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with abundant [[lianas]] and tropical [[epiphytes]]. Pine and pine-oak forests, at a height from {{convert|1,600|-|2,800|m|ft|abbr=on}} have evergreen trees {{convert|25|-|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with grasses dominating the lower stratum. Oak forests at a height from {{convert|2,000|-|2,500|m|ft|abbr=on}} grow in areas with relatively lower rainfall that have a dry season in summer. The oak forests are found in the western, inland part of the sierra to the [[Rio Grande (Oaxaca)|Rio Grande]] Basin.<ref name=smithsonian/>
==Animals==
A species of alligator lizard, ''[[Abronia juarezi]]'', is [[Endemism|endemic]] to and named after the Sierra Juárez mountain range.<ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Juarez, p. 137).</ref>
==People==
The Sierra Juárez is the land of the Sierra [[Zapotec peoples|Zapotecs]], of whom President Benito Juárez was one of the most famous.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=MacEarlean, A. A.
|title= Zapoteca Indians
|encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia
|year=1913}}</ref>
The Zapotecs of the Sierra Norte, who call themselves the ''bene xon,'' are one of three major Zapotec regions in southern Mexico. The other three reside in the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]], the [[Valles Centrales de Oaxaca|Valles Centrales]] region and the [[Sierra Madre Oriental]]. The ''bene xon'' divide into four sub-cultures: Cajonos, El Rincón, Ixtlán and Choapan.<ref name="CDI">{{cite web
|url=http://www.mexicantextiles.com/library/zapotecsierra/zapotecsierraespanol.html
|title=Zapotec del Sierra Norte de Oaxaca
|work=Mexican Indigenous Textile Project
|accessdate=2010-07-04}}</ref>
Other indigenous people include the [[Chinantec]], [[Mixe people|Mixe]] and [[Mixtec]].<ref name=smithsonian/>
==Environmental concerns==
The Sierra Juárez is home to threatened [[mammal]]s such as [[jaguar]] (''Panthera onca''), [[ocelot]] (''Leopardus pardalis''), and [[brocket deer]] (genus ''Mazama''). It is also a habitat for the threatened [[dwarf jay]] (''Cyanloyca nanus''), and is the richest region in Mexico for [[Butterfly|butterflies]]. It is under stress from logging, agriculture, grazing, and colonization, and is potentially threatened by hydroelectric dams. There is no official plan to establish nature reserves.<ref name=smithsonian/> However, the region promotes ecotourism to help preserve the biosphere with various enterprises offering cabins, camping, access and guides for hiking and mountain-biking trails, horseback riding, bird-watching, and cave exploration.<ref name="MexDesOax"/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Oaxaca}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca}}
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Mexico|Juarez]]
[[Category:Sierra Madre de Oaxaca]]<!--a subrange of-->
[[Category:Landforms of Oaxaca]]
[[Category:Sierra Norte de Oaxaca]]<!--region-->