Ecoregions of Mexico

Mexico is located in the southern portion of North America and is the third largest country in Latin America. A biodiverse country, it encompasses arid deserts and scrublands, tropical rainforests, temperate forests and grasslands, mangrove swamps, alpine ecosystems, and coral reefs.

The Chihuahuan Desert, North America's largest desert ecoregion, is bounded by the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental; it extends southward into Mexico. Recognized for its biological diversity, the Chihuahuan Desert is a rain shadow desert shaped by the surrounding mountain ranges. Home to unique endemic species, including plants and animals, the region showcases a mosaic of landscapes, from grasslands to shrublands.

The Sonoran Desert, or Desierto de Altar, is a vast, arid region recognized as Mexico's hottest desert. Extending across northwestern Mexico, including Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, and reaching into southwestern Arizona and southeastern California in the United States, the Sonoran Desert captivates with its expansive and diverse landscape.