The Cerro de Chipinque is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

San Pedro Garza García San Pedro Garza García (also known as San Pedro) is a city-municipality in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Nuevo León and part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area. It is a contemporary commercial suburb of the larger met ...

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and Santa Catarina municipalities; state of

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The mountain is part of the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

range and the Cumbres de Monterrey National Park. The summit reaches 2,229 meters above sea level. The mountain is a symbol for the Monterrey metropolitan area. The mountain is surrounded by Santa Catarina valley, San Pedro valley, mount El Mirador, la Silla river, Ballesteros Canyon and La Huasteca canyon. The “Parque ecológico Chipinque” is on the north slope of the mountain. The mountain's name is believed to have originated from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word "chichipinqui" meaning small rain or from the name of an indigenous chief. File:La m 3.jpg, La eme seen from the plateau of Chipinque Park. File:La m 4.jpg, La eme seen from a hotel at the plateau. File:Cerro Chipinque.png, El Pinar seen from Chipinque

History

Though this area's beauty was widely known, it wasn't an Ecological Park until 1992, when a board of trustees made up of the government of the State of

and a private initiative was formalized. It was also known as an obligatory destination for most

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

enthusiasts, as the typical northern habitat and biodiversity made it unique. The mission of this park is to maintain biodiversity in the area, by means of controlling the use of natural resources responsibly. Chipinque is open every day of the year, from 6am to 8pm local time. Most of the park is open to all people, though authorization and a guide are needed to climb some of the higher peaks. The park's staff consists of 22 forest rangers.

Geography

Cerro de Chipinque is in the

, within the bounds of Cumbres de Monterrey National Park. It has a land area of 1625 hectares though only about 300 of these are open to the general public. With altitudes ranging from 800m to around 2200m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, the tallest peak is known as Copete de las Aguillas, which is Spanish for crest of the eagles. The main crest is about 17 km long.

Biology and ecology

Flora

This area is defined mainly by the large coniferous forest. Some of the plants there are ''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Mexico and the United States, specifically Texas. This plant is widely cultiv ...

'', '' A. bracteosa'', '' A. scabra'', ''

Asclepias ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to huma ...

'' (milkweed) sp., '' Cercis canadensis'' (eastern redbud), '' Cestrum parqui'', '' Cordia boissieri'', '' Echinocereus'' sp., ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being ''Eu ...

'' (spurge) sp.,

ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

, '' Garrya elliptica'', '' Havardia'' (''tenaza'') sp., ''

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, Ipomoea aquatica, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, ...

'' (morning glory) sp., '' Juniperus flaccida'' (''enebro triste''), '' Justicia'' sp., ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in num ...

'' sp., '' Lenophyllum'' sp., ''

Mammillaria ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family (Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillarias are native to Mexico, while some come from the Southwestern United States, the C ...

'' (pincushion) sp., ''

Monarda ''Monarda'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.Harley, R. M., et al. 2004. "Labiatae". pp 167-275 In: Kubitzki, K. (editor) and J. W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume VII. ...

'' (bee balm) sp., ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

'' (tobacco) sp., ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid clima ...

'' (prickly pear) sp., ''

Pinus pseudostrobus ''Pinus pseudostrobus'', known in English as the smooth-bark Mexican pine and in Spanish as ''chamite'' or ''pacingo'', is a tree found in forests of Mexico and Central America. It is 8 to 25 m tall with a dense and round top.It is threatened b ...

'' (''pino lacio''), '' Prosopis'' (mesquite) sp., '' Prunus persica'' (''durazno''), '' Quercus canbyi'' (''encino duraznillo'') and other types of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, '' Vachellia constricta'' (''chaparro prieto'') and ''

Vachellia farnesiana ''Vachellia farnesiana'', also known as ''Acacia farnesiana'', and previously ''Mimosa farnesiana'', commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, casha tree, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flo ...

'' (''huizache'' or sweet acacia).

Fauna

This area's fauna consists mainly of large mammals and birds. Some of the mammals are

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

s, Coatis, White tail deer and the

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

. Some of the birds are

Red-tailed Hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

, Turkey vulture,

Wild Turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

, Mountain pygmy owl, Bronzed cowbird and the Blue-capped motmot. Some of the reptiles are spiny lizards, Texas alligator lizards, and Blacktail cribos. The park stands out for its multitude of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

species.

Climate

The average temperature of Chipinque is 20 °C, with an average yearly rain being 860mm. This area is mainly a subhumid

temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest terrestrial biome, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers about 3 ...

and submontane

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

. The forests are mainly

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s and

References

{{Monterrey Rock formations of Mexico Landmarks in Monterrey Landforms of Nuevo León Two-thousanders of the United States