Los Mármoles National Park is a protected natural area in northeastern

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 ...

. It is located in the western

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 ...

of northern

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico :''Most, if not all, named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)'' * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coah ...

Geography

The national park has an area of 231.5 km². It is located in the municipality of

Zimapán Zimapán (Otomi: Mabo̱za) is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of . The name Zimapán derives from the Nahuatl words "cimatl", meaning "cimate" (a root used to ferment p ...

, northeast of the town. The park lies between the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

and the Sierra de Pachuca, and is part of a chain of mountains that extend north–south to the west of the main chain of the Sierra Madre. The highest peak in the park is

Cerro Cangando Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". People * Francisco Cerro (born 1988), Argentine footballer * Francisco Cerro Chaves (born 1957), Spanish prelate, theologian, and philosopher of the Catholic Church * Ian Cerro (born 1996), American f ...

at 3,000 meters elevation. The lowest elevations are in the Barranca San Vicente, a ravine which descends to 600 meters elevation and drains into the

Moctezuma River The Moctezuma River (Río Moctezuma) is a river in Mexico that drains the eastern side of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Sierra Nevada). It is a tributary of the Pánuco River and flows through the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Querétaro, and San ...

. The climate is temperate subhumid across most of the park, and semiwarm subhumid at lower elevations. Summer is the rainy season, with average annual rainfall ranging from 1500 mm to 450 mm in the driest areas. The park is mostly in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Flora and fauna

The main plant communities in the park are pine forest and oak forest, with areas of pine–oak forest, juniper forest and woodland, and dry (xeric) scrubland. Oak forests occur at mid-elevations, and the predominant species are ''

Quercus crassifolia ''Quercus crassifolia'' is a species of oak. It is widespread in Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua to Veracruz and Chiapas.Quercus laeta ''Quercus laeta'' is an oak species in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' section ''Quercus'', in the beech family. It is widespread across much of Mexico from Sinaloa and Nuevo León south as far as Oaxaca. Description ''Quercus laeta'' is a ...

Quercus mexicana ''Quercus mexicana'' is a species of oak. It is widespread in eastern Mexico from Chiapas to Tamaulipas.Quercus affinis''. The pine forests are of two main types, a ''

Pinus cembroides ''Pinus cembroides'', also known as pinyon pine, Mexican pinyon, Mexican nut pine, and Mexican stone pine, is a pine in the pinyon pine group. It is a small pine growing to about with a trunk diameter of up to . It is native to western North Am ...

–

Juniperus deppeana ''Juniperus deppeana'' (alligator juniper or checkerbark juniper) is a small to medium-sized tree reaching in height. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Description The tree reaches , rarely , in he ...

'' association, and the other consisting of ''

Pinus greggii ''Pinus greggii'', or Gregg's pine, is a small to medium high pine tree native to eastern Mexico, found in two distinct regions. It has an open crown and long and slender branches. The needles are in bundles of three with an average length of 11 ...

Pinus teocote 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 ...

Pinus patula ''Pinus patula'', commonly known as patula pine, spreading-leaved pine, or Mexican weeping pine, and in Spanish as ''pino patula'' or ''pino llorón'', (''patula'' Latin = "spreading") is a tree native to the highlands of Mexico. It grows from ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. Xeric scrub is found in the low ravines, and common plants include ''

Acacia berlandieri ''Senegalia berlandieri'' (Berlandier acacia, guajillo acacia, guajillo, huajillo, huajilla) is a shrub native to the Southwestern United States and northeast Mexico that belongs to the Mimosoid clade of Fabaceae. It grows tall, with blossoms t ...

Caesalpinia mexicana ''Erythrostemon mexicanus'', formerly ''Caesalpinia mexicana'', is a species of plant in the genus '' Erythrostemon'', within the pea family, Fabaceae. Common names include Mexican Bird of Paradise, Mexican holdback, Mexican caesalpinia, and taba ...

, Dalea bicolor,

Karwinskia humboldtiana ''Karwinskia humboldtiana'', commonly known as coyotillo, cacachila or Humboldt coyotillo, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to southern and western Texas in the United States as well as much of ...

Mimosa aculeaticarpa ''Mimosa aculeaticarpa'' is a species of woody shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is commonly known as the catclaw mimosa or the wait-a-minute bush, and is endemic to upland regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly Ariz ...

'', and '' Senna racemosa''."Los Mármoles". Ficha SIMEC, Comisíon National de Áreas Naturales Protegidas. Accessed 12 September 2021

/ref> There are is a rich diversity 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 ...

s in the park, with 18 native species. The most common are '' Quercus affinis,

'', and ''

Quercus mexicana ''Quercus mexicana'' is a species of oak. It is widespread in eastern Mexico from Chiapas to Tamaulipas.bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s, and is considered an important site in Mexico for bat conservation."Parque Nacional los Mármoles". RED Latinoamericana y del Caribe para la Conservación de los Murciélagos. Accessed 12 September 202

/ref> Species include the

common vampire bat The common vampire bat (''Desmodus rotundus'') is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to the Americas. It is one of three extant species of vampire bats, the other two being the Hairy-legged vampire bat, hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats ...

(''Desmodus rotundus''), Aztec fruit-eating bat (''Dermanura azteca''),

lesser long-nosed bat The lesser long-nosed bat (''Leptonycteris yerbabuenae'') is a medium-sized bat found in Central and North America. It is sometimes known as Sanborn's long-nosed bat or the Mexican long-nosed bat, though the latter name is better avoided since it ...

(''Leptonycteris yerbabuenae''),

California myotis The California myotis (''Myotis californicus'') is a species of vesper bat. It is found in British Columbia in Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, and in the western United States, including California. Description Physical characteristics The Califor ...

(''Myotis californicus''), southwestern myotis (''Myotis auriculus''),

hoary bat The hoary bat (''Lasiurus cinereus'') is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It lives throughout most of North America (and possibly also in Hawaii, although this is disputed). Taxonomy The hoary bat was described as ...

(''Aeorestes cinereus''), and

desert red bat The western red bat or desert red bat (''Lasiurus frantzii'') is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in western North America and Central America. Taxonomy Previously, it was believed to be a subspecies of the ...

(''Lasiurus blossevillii''). Other native mammals include the

ringtail The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well-adapted to its distributed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. Globally, it is list ...

(''Bassariscus astutus''). Native birds include the

white-eared hummingbird The white-eared hummingbird (''Basilinna leucotis'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found from the southwestern U.S. to Nicaragua.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook o ...

(''Basilinna leucotis''). Native reptiles include the lagarto alicante del Popocatepetl (''

Barisia imbricata ''Barisia imbricata'', also known commonly as the imbricate alligator lizard, the transvolcanic alligator lizard, and ''el escorpión de transvolcánico'' in Mexican Spanish, is a species of medium-sized lizard in the family Anguidae. The specie ...

'') and the

spiny lizard Spiny lizards is a common name for the genus ''Sceloporus'' in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus is endemic to North America, with various species ranging from New York, to Washington, and one occurring as far south as northern Panama. Kö ...

Sceloporus minor ''Sceloporus minor'', the minor lizard or red minor lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is endemic to Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost c ...

''.

Conservation

Los Mármoles was declared a national park in 1936 by President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

References

{{reflist National parks of Mexico Protected areas of Hidalgo (state) Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Oriental