The Reserva Ecológica Municipal Sierra y Cañón de Jimulco is a protected natural area in

Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Coahuila. The city's population is 720,848 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the state of Coahuila. Also Torreón is par ...

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

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 ...

. Jimulco has a high

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

of over 10,000 ft, a

riparian area A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

formed by the

Aguanaval River The Aguanaval River is a river located in northcentral Mexico. Geography It originates in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental range of Zacatecas state, and flows generally north through Zacatecas and Durango states to empty into the endorheic ...

, an endorrheic basin and an extensive valley with the characteristic flora and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert. El Cañon del Realito and El Cañon de la Cabeza are two small canyons of great beauty formed by the Aguanaval. The summit of Sierra de Jimulco is covered in pine-oak forest. The riparian area has old Montezuma bald cypresses,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

s and cottonwoods.

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

s and

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

s move from the mountain footholds to the riparian forest. More than 120 species of birds have been observed in the area including

mountain bluebird The mountain bluebird (''Sialia currucoides'') is a migratory small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and s ...

red-shouldered hawk The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...

s and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s. Characteristic vegetation of the Chihuahuan desert includes

lechuguilla ''Agave lechuguilla'' (common name in Chihuahua: ''lechuguilla'', meaning "small lettuce") is an ''Agave'' species found only in the Chihuahuan Desert. The plant flowers once in its life and then dies. Description The plant reproduces most ...

ocotillo ''Fouquieria splendens'', commonly known as ocotillo, is a plant indigenous to the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Colorado deserts in the Southwestern United States (southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), and nor ...

cholla cactus ''Cylindropuntia'' is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae), containing species commonly known as chollas ( ), native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are known for their barbed spines that tenaciously attach to skin, fu ...

, and

prickly pear cactus ''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 climat ...

. An endemic subspecies of ''

Agave victoriae-reginae ''Agave victoriae-reginae'', the Queen Victoria agave or royal agave, is a small species of succulent flowering perennial plant, noted for its streaks of white on sculptured geometrical leaves, and popular as an ornamental. This agave is highly ...

'' is common in the sheer cliffs of the nearby mountains. Extensive

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

patches still survive in this protected area but are being cut at an alarming rate to make

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

. Other menaces to the area are the intended construction of a large

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

at Cañon de la Cabeza, overpumping of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

and illegal

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. The reserve was established in 2003, and has an area of 610.18 km².UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Sierra y Canon de Jimulco from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accesse 14 October 2021

/ref>

References

External links

Reserva Ecológica Municipal Sierra y Cañón de Jimulco
(in Spanish) {{coord missing, Coahuila Protected areas of Coahuila Protected areas of the Chihuahuan Desert Natural history of the Mexican Plateau