Mariposa Monarca
The Natural Protected Area belongs to the Physiographic Province of Eje Volcánico Transversal, that indicates the extreme South of the Mexican Altiplain and separates it from the Balsas depression. It is a discontinuous mountain system, deeply dissected by strong tectonic processes, composed by a group of mountain ranges and hills that take up 77% of the total surface, grouped in the South-Center portion and separated by small intermountain valleys 12% and plains 6%.
It is composed by 5 types of vegetation: sacred fir forests, characterized by the predominance of Abies religiosa and constitutes the characteristic habitat of the Monarch Butterfly, pine-fir forests, pine forests, oak forests and cedar forests.
Declaration date: 2006
Surface area: 56,259 ha
Administrative division: Municipalities of Aporo, Angangueo, Ocampo, Zitácuaro, Senguio and Contepec, in the State of Michoacán and Municipalities of Villa de Allende, San José del Rincón, Temascalcingo and Donato Guerra in the State of Mexico
Human Activities
Silviculture, agriculture, animal husbandry, trout-farming and tourism.
Ecological Characteristics
The Biosphere Reserve is located in a region where conservation of the natural heritage is a challenge because of its unique physical, geomorphological, climatic, hydrological and biogeographic features, but more especially because it is here that every year millions of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) complete their migratory cycle, migrating from Canada and the United States.
The mountains in the region are mainly covered by Oak forests up to 2900 m, Pine and Oak and Pine forests between 1500 and 3000 m, and Sacred Fir Abies religiosa, at an altitude of between 2400 and 3600 m above sea level. Other less represented associations are the Cedar and Juniper forests and the grasslands.
It is an important catchment area for rainfall, feeding numerous water bodies in the States of Michoacán and Mexico. It is also the habitat of various endemic species from the centre of the country and particular mention may be made of Pinus martinezii, Ambystoma ordi-narium and Regulus calendula.
As it is a transition zone between the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, attached to the Southern Sierras Province of the Mesoamerican Mountain Region, it hosts an enormous biodiversity due to the convergence of flora and fauna from both biogeographical regions. Partial studies have reported 198 species of vertebrates, 493 species of vascular plants and some 100 species of fungi.
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Last update: July 2012
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