CUATRO
CIENEGAS |
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Location: |
Neotropics | ||||
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Biome: |
Small lakes | ||||
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Size: |
Protected Area : 3 632.6 km2 | ||||
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Status: |
Critical/ Endangered | ||||
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General: |
Numerous freshwater lakes, often thermal, scattered on the Sierra Madre mountain range. High level of endemism. | ||||
| Special: | incredibly
diverse complex of thousands of geothermal springs, lakes and
streams, extremely complex and little understood. Variation among
springs in terms of discharge, water chemistry and temperature
is extensive, and often extreme over very small spatial scales.
Very fragile, important Biodiversity Hotspot |
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Climate: |
Three
principal types of climate: * very arid semi- hot climate with scarce precipitation all year round * arid, very hot climate * arid, temperate climate, precipitation mainly in summer, occasionally winter Mean annual temperature: 16-22oC. Total yearly precipitation: up to 400 mm. Elevation: 740–3 000 m. |
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Fauna: |
Endemic
moluscs, reptiles fish (ex. Cichlasoma minckleyi) |
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Flora: |
More than 30 endemic plant species, all threatened. | ||||
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Dangers: |
Deforestation by burning, modification of water flow, overexploitation of mineral deposits, unregulated turism. |
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