page_title: Cuajimalpa
section_title: Geography and environment
hierarchical_section_title: Cuajimalpa / Geography and environment
caption_attribution_description: Español: La casa de los patos esta localizada en la cañada del "Ex monasterio del Desierto de los Leones"
context_page_description: Cuajimalpa de Morelos is one of the 16 boroughs of Mexico City. It is located on the west side of the city in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains which separate Mexico City from the State of Mexico. The borough is named after the former rural town of Cuajimalpa, which has since been absorbed by urban sprawl. The borough is home to the Desierto de los Leones National Park, the first declared in Mexico as well as the second largest annual passion play in Mexico City.
context_section_description: The Cuajimalpa borough is located on the west side of the Federal District of Mexico City. To the west of it are the municipalities of Ocoyoacac and Huixquilucan de Degollado in the State of Mexico. It also borders the boroughs of Miguel Hidalgo, Alvaro Obregon and Magdalena Contreras in the Federal District. The borough covers an area of 8,905 hectares, just over five percent of the total of the Federal District.
  The borough is situated on the east side of the Sierra de las Cruces, a volcanic mountain range which separates the Federal District of Mexico City from the State of Mexico and has an average elevation of 2,750 meters above sea level. The terrain is very rugged  with mountain peaks mostly found in the center and south. These include La Palma (3,810 masl), San Miguel (3,800 masl), El Cochinito (3,760 masl) and El Ángel (3,330 masl) . The land mostly consists of volcanic rock with small valleys and canyons that contain sedimentary deposits; however, there is no longer volcanic activity.
  The area contains many fissures, natural caverns and small canyons which are the result of tectonic forces and erosion. Most of these run from north-northeast to south-southwest. There are small flat areas suitable for agriculture such as around the towns of San Pablo Chimalpa and San Lorenzo Acopilco. The canyons are formed by the channeling of rainwater along fissures. There are two types of canyons: stable ones with wide bottoms and less steep slopes (mostly in the northeast) and V-shaped ones with steep unstable slopes, which can be found in various parts of the borough. The largest canyons are the Santo Domingo, Agua Azul, Los Helechos and Hueyatlaco. The borough contains seven “mini” basins called Arroyo Agua de Leones, Arroyo Santo Desierto, Río Tacubaya, Río Becerra, Río San Joaquín, Río Barrilaco and Río Magalenas. These are currents which channel rainwater along the rugged terrain with most running southwest to northeast. Three have their beginnings in the Sierra de las Cruces with the rest in the center or north of the territory. These streams and rivers then run into several other sections of Mexico City and into the State of Mexico. Because of the many cracks in the soil and rock, the borough is an important aquifer recharge area as well as the source of water for freshwater springs.
  The climate ranges from temperate to cold and its mostly humid. Average annual temperatures vary between 10C and 12C with average annual precipitation varying from between 1,200mm and 1,500mm. The canyons have microclimates which tend to be moister because prevailing winds do not reach and dry them out.
  About twenty percent of the borough is classified as conservation zone with the rest urbanized; however, thirty percent of the population lives in these areas. The area contains a number of threatened species of animal in the Valley of Mexico such as carpenter birds, hummingbirds, cacomistles and several species of lizard. The highest elevations, mostly encompassed by the Desierto de los Leones National Park, are the best conserved. This forest is an important source of oxygenation for the Valley of Mexico. The greatest environmental threat is the continuation of urban sprawl, which threatens forests and other protected areas. Areas which already have high levels of deforestation suffer significant erosion. Although there are official efforts in place to control building, illegal settlements are a significant concern, especially those on the edges of the national park.
caption: In the Desierto de los Leones National Park
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