Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí

San Luis Potosí is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It has a population of just under three million and covers nearly 63,000 km² (over 23,500 square miles) and is divided in 58 municipalities. Its capital and largest city with a population of around one and a quarter million people is San Luis Potosí City. It is located in eastern and central Mexico and is bordered by seven other Mexican states: Nuevo León to the north; Tamaulipas to the north-east; Veracruz to the east; Hidalgo, Querétaro and Guanajuato to the south; and Zacatecas to the north-west. In addition to the capital city, other major cities in the state include Ciudad Valles, Matehuala, Rioverde, and Tamazunchale.

The state lies mostly on the Mexican Plateau, with the exception of the eastern part of the state, where the tableland breaks down into the tropical valley of the Tampaon River (which continues flowing northwestward until it becomes the Pánuco River, which divides San Luis Potosí from the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas). The surface of the plateau is comparatively level, with some low mountainous wooded ridges. The Sierra Madre Oriental runs north and south through the state, and separates the Mexican Plateau from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the east. The Sierra Madre Oriental is home to the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests. The easternmost portion of the state lies on the Gulf Coastal Plain, and covered by the Veracruz moist forests. The eastern part is included in the region commonly referred to as “La Huasteca”.

Cerro del Fraile, Matehuala Mountains – ©Lucy Nieto, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Tampaón river and its tributaries drain the southern and southeastern portion of the state. The northern and central portion of the state, including the capital, lie on an interior drainage basin which does not drain to the sea.

The mean elevation is about 1,800 m (6,000 ft), ensuring a mostly temperate climate. The state lies partly within the arid zone of the north, while the southern half receiving more rainfall through the influence of the Nortes, which deliver significant amounts of rain. The rainfall, however, is uncertain at the western and northern regions, and much of the state does not have major rivers. The soil is fertile and in favourable seasons large crops of wheat, maize, beans and cotton are grown on the uplands. In the low tropical valleys, sugar, coffee, tobacco, peppers and fruit are staple products. Livestock is an important industry and hides, tallow and wool are exported.

Rio Micos – ©Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Birding San Luis Potosí

The state has a number of protected areas administered by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP). These include two national parks El Gogorrón National Park (covering 25,000 ha) & El Potosí National Park (covering 2,000 ha) and a biosphere reserve, Sierra del Abra Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve (covering 21,464 ha). There are also two flora and fauna protection areas Sierra de Álvarez (16,900 ha) and at Sierra La Mojonera  (9,201 ha). There is also a Ramsar site at Arrochas y Manantiales de Tanchachín. There are also a dozen monuments, reserves and local parks, such as Adolfo Roque Bautista Forest and Tancojol State Reserve.