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The Balsas dry forests are a tropical ecoregion, of the Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests Biome, located in Western and Central Mexico.
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Geography
The Balsas dry forests occupy the basin of the Balsas River. The ecoregion covers an area of 62,400 square kilometers (24,100 sq mi). The Balsas Valley, and the Balsas dry forests, extend east and west between the ranges of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt to the north and the Sierra Madre del Sur to the south.
The Balsas dry forests ecoregion extends across portions of the states of:
- Michoacán
- Guerrero
- Mexico (state)
- Morelos
- Puebla
- Oaxaca
Surrounding ecoregions
The surrounding mountains are home to pine-oak forests: the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests to the north and northwest, the Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests to the south, and the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests to the east. The xeric Tehuacan Valley matorral lies to the northeast. The Balsas dry forests meet the coastal Southern Pacific dry forests where the Balsas breaks through the Sierra Madre del Sur on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
Climate
The climate of the Balsas dry forests is tropical and subhumid. Rainfall is less than 120 centimeters (47 inches) per year and seasonal, with a dry season that can last up to eight months.