Sierra de la Laguna

The Sierra de la Laguna is a mountain range at the southern end of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, and is the southernmost range of the Peninsular Ranges System.

Sierra de la Laguna
View from El Picacho.
Highest point
PeakSierra de la Laguna High Point
Elevation6,857 ft (2,090 m)
Geography
Sierra de la Laguna
Sierra de la Laguna
CountryMexico
StateBaja California Sur
MunicipalityLa Paz Municipality and Los Cabos Municipality
Geology
Type of rockPeninsular Ranges

It is located in La Paz Municipality and Los Cabos Municipality of southern Baja California Sur state.

The "Sierra de la Laguna High Point", at 6,857 feet (2,090 m) in elevation, is the highest point of the range and in Baja California Sur state. [1]

Ecology

The southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, including the Sierra de la Laguna, was formerly an island in prehistoric times. It has a distinctive flora and fauna, with many affinities to Southwestern Mexico. The Sierra is home to many endemic species and subspecies.

The dry San Lucan xeric scrub ecoregion extends from the sea level at the coast to 250 metres (820 ft) in elevation. The Sierra de la Laguna dry forests ecoregion occupy lower portion of the range, from 250–800 metres (820–2,620 ft) in elevation.

Above 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation, the dry forests transition to the Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests ecoregion. The composition of the pine-oak forests varies with elevation; oak woodlands predominate from 800–1,200 metres (2,600–3,900 ft) in elevation, with oak-pine woodlands between 1,200–1,600 metres (3,900–5,200 ft) in elevation, transitioning to pine-oak forests above 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in elevation. The predominant pine is a local subspecies of Mexican Pinyon, Pinus cembroides subsp. lagunae.

The forests are exploited commercially for timber, and cattle-raising is common in the oak woodland and dry forest zones.

Biosphere reserve

UNESCO has designated the Sierra de la Laguna a global biosphere reserve: "This semi arid to temperate subhumid climate area represents highly important and contrasted ecosystems, including arid zones, matorrales, low deciduous forest type, evergreen oak: Quercus devia (“encino”) woods, pine-evergreen oak mix woods and oases with palms and “guerivos” situated throughout the gallery forest following the long river basins." The Biosphere reserve was established by a Mexican presidential decree of 6 June 1994, which designated a core area and buffer zones.

The core area is centered on the higher-elevation oak-pine forests, while the transition area includes the communities of Todos Santos, El Pescadero, El Triunfo, San Antonio, San Bartolo, Buena Vista, Los Barriles, Las Cuevas, Santiago and Miraflores.

Climate

The climate is influenced by its altitude. At higher altitudes, it has a subtropical highland climate with cool temperatures year round and higher amounts of precipitation.

Climate data for Sierra de la Laguna, elev. 1,906 metres (6,253 ft)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 25.0
(77.0)		 26.0
(78.8)		 29.5
(85.1)		 29.0
(84.2)		 32.5
(90.5)		 34.0
(93.2)		 31.0
(87.8)		 36.0
(96.8)		 33.0
(91.4)		 31.0
(87.8)		 29.0
(84.2)		 30.0
(86.0)		 36.0
(96.8)
Average high °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)		 17.2
(63.0)		 19.0
(66.2)		 21.1
(70.0)		 22.7
(72.9)		 24.4
(75.9)		 23.8
(74.8)		 22.9
(73.2)		 22.4
(72.3)		 21.2
(70.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 17.4
(63.3)		 20.6
(69.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 8.9
(48.0)		 9.7
(49.5)		 11.2
(52.2)		 13.4
(56.1)		 15.2
(59.4)		 17.8
(64.0)		 18.3
(64.9)		 17.6
(63.7)		 17.1
(62.8)		 15.0
(59.0)		 12.0
(53.6)		 10.2
(50.4)		 13.9
(57.0)
Average low °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)		 2.3
(36.1)		 3.4
(38.1)		 5.7
(42.3)		 7.7
(45.9)		 11.3
(52.3)		 12.9
(55.2)		 12.4
(54.3)		 11.8
(53.2)		 8.8
(47.8)		 5.1
(41.2)		 3.1
(37.6)		 7.2
(45.0)
Record low °C (°F) −7.0
(19.4)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −6.0
(21.2)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 1.0
(33.8)		 7.0
(44.6)		 5.0
(41.0)		 4.5
(40.1)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −6.0
(21.2)		 −6.0
(21.2)		 −7.0
(19.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 31.1
(1.22)		 10.2
(0.40)		 6.1
(0.24)		 3.0
(0.12)		 0.2
(0.01)		 7.6
(0.30)		 110.8
(4.36)		 181.7
(7.15)		 166.6
(6.56)		 72.4
(2.85)		 18.5
(0.73)		 39.5
(1.56)		 647.7
(25.50)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.92 1.32 0.78 0.37 0.18 0.90 7.62 11.91 9.45 4.65 1.86 2.60 43.56
Average snowy days 0 0.04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.04
Source 1: Colegio de Postgraduados[2]
Source 2: Servicio Meteorológico National (extremes)[3]
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References
  1. Peakery.com: Sierra de la Laguna High Point - Baja California Sur, Mexico
  2. "Normales climatológicas para Sierra de la Laguna, B.C.S" (in Spanish). Colegio de Postgraduados. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  3. "NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1951-2010" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico National. Retrieved January 17, 2013.

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