{{Short description, Endorheic basin in Mexico Llanos el Salado is a large

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

of central

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 ...

. It is located on the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano ( es, Altiplanicie Mexicana), 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 b ...

, and covers portions of several Mexican states, including eastern and northeastern

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, Northern San Luis Potosí, western

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 ...

, southwestern Nuevo León, and southeastern Coahuila. El Salado blends into the Bolsón de Mapimí, another endorheic basin, on the north. The basin has an arid climate and is covered by

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

. Mexico's

National Institute of Statistics and Geography The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

(INEGI) divides the Llanos el Salado region into several basins: * Fresnillo-Yesca * Matehuala * Presa San José-Los Pilares y Otras * San Pablo y Otras * Sierra Madre * Sierra Madre Oriental * Sierra de Rodriguez

References

* Olson, D., Dinerstein, E., Canevari, P., Davidson, I., Castro, G., Morisset, V., Abell, R., and Toledo, E.; eds. (1998). ''Freshwater biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean: A conservation assessment.'' Biodiversity Support Program, Washington DC. Drainage basins of Mexico Endorheic basins of North America Mexican Plateau Ecoregions of Mexico Freshwater ecoregions Landforms of Coahuila Landforms of Nuevo León Landforms of San Luis Potosí Landforms of Tamaulipas Landforms of Zacatecas Natural history of the Mexican Plateau Nearctic ecoregions