The Madrean sky islands are enclaves of Madrean pine-oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern Arizona and New Mexico and northern Mexico. For the fantasy novel by L Frank Baum, see Sky Island (novel. The Madrean pine-oak woodlands are Subtropical Woodlands found in the mountains of Mexico and the southwestern United States. The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The sky islands are surrounded at lower elevations by the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. The Sonoran Desert (sometimes called the Gila Desert after the Gila River or the Low Desert in opposition to the higher Mojave Desert) is The Chihuahuan Desert is a Desert that straddles the US-Mexico border.
The sky islands are the northernmost of the Madrean pine-oak woodlands, and are classified as part of the Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests ecoregion. The Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests are a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range of Mexico and An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " The sky islands were isolated from one another and from the pine-oak woodlands of the Sierra Madre Occidental to the south by the warming and drying of the climate since the ice ages. The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico and the extreme southwest of the United States, extending 1500 km from southeast Arizona An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets
There are approximately 27 Madrean sky islands in the United States, and 15 in northern Mexico. The major Madrean sky island ranges in the United States are the Baboquivari Mountains, Chiricahua Mountains, Pinaleño Mountains, Santa Catalina Mountains, and Santa Rita Mountains. The Baboquivari Peak Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U The Chiricahua Mountains are a Mountain range in southeasternmost Arizona, USA and are part of the Coronado National Forest. The Pinaleño Mountains are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona. The Santa Catalina Mountains are located north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. The Santa Rita Mountains, located about 65 km (40 mi southeast of Tucson Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi from northwest to southeast
See also
External links
- Sky Island Alliance homepage
- Southwestern Sky Island Ecosystems (US Geologic Survey)
- Madrean Sky Islands Montane Forests images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu (slow modem version)
- Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak woodlands (World Wildlife Fund)
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