page_title: Sonora
section_title: Flora and fauna
hierarchical_section_title: Sonora / Geography and environment / Flora and fauna
caption_attribution_description: English: Laguna Nainari.
context_page_description: Sonora, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora, is one of 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo.
  Sonora is bordered by the states of Chihuahua to the east, Baja California to the northwest and Sinaloa to the south. To the north, it shares the U.S.–Mexico border primarily with the state of Arizona with a small length with New Mexico, and on the west has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of California.
  Sonora's natural geography is divided into three parts: the Sierra Madre Occidental in the east of the state; plains and rolling hills in the center; and the coast on the Gulf of California. It is primarily arid or semiarid deserts and grasslands, with only the highest elevations having sufficient rainfall to support other types of vegetation.
  Sonora is home to eight indigenous peoples, including the Mayo, the O’odham, the Yaqui, and Seri. It has been economically important for its agriculture, livestock, and mining since the colonial period, and for its status as a border state since the Mexican–American War.
context_section_description: Habitats and vegetation vary greatly depending on elevation and rainfall. An estimated 2,230,000 hectares (22,300 km²; 8,600 sq mi) of Sonora is in arid grasslands; 1,200,000 hectares (12,000 km²; 4,600 sq mi) are covered in forests, 301,859 hectares (3,018.59 km²; 1,165.48 sq mi) in rainforest and 1,088,541 hectares (10,885.41 km²; 4,202.88 sq mi) in farmland. Seventy percent of the territory, or 13,500,000 hectares (135,000 km²; 52,000 sq mi), is covered in desert vegetation or arid grasslands. The Yécora municipality in eastern Sonora has one of the highest grass diversities in Mexico. There are eight types of desert vegetation, seven of which are native to the Sonoran Desert and one in the area that transitions to the Chihuahua Desert. Most are scrubs or small bushes, which generally do not reach over 4 metres (13 ft) in height, most of the rest are cactus, with some mangroves and other halophile plants. Many plants are rainfall sensitive, with most trees and shrubs growing leaves and flowers just before or during the rainy season, then drop their leaves afterwards. However, there are plants in flower at one time or another throughout the year. Coastal plants receive less water stress due to lower evaporation rates, and substantial moisture from dew, especially in the cooler months.
  Most forests are located in the northeast of the state, covering about 6.4% of the state. This is the area with the coolest temperatures. Deforestation has been a significant problem, especially after 1980, because the rate of cutting trees has increased. In central Sonora, the area covered by Madrean evergreen woodland and Sonoran Desert scrub decreased 28% and 31%, respectively, between 1973 and 1992 (ValdezZamudio et al. 2000). During this same period, For example, much of the forests of mesquite trees in the lower elevations of the state have disappeared because of the demand for local fuels and the market for mesquite charcoal in Mexico and the United States
  Most of northern Mexico suffers from one of the world's highest rates of desertification due to land degradation in arid and semi arid areas, with the loss of biological and/or economic productivity, but the process is most severe Sonora as neighboring Sinaloa. Land degradation occurs because of clearing land for agriculture, the planting of non-native buffelgrass for grazing, the cutting of forests, overgrazing of natural vegetation and soil salinization from irrigation. A study by Balling in 1998 showed higher soil and air temperatures in areas that have been overgrazed, deforested and otherwise cleared land, likely due to the lack of shading vegetation, which leads to higher soil evaporation and desert conditions. Studies have also indicated that warming trends are higher in Sonora than in neighboring Arizona, into which the Sonora Desert also extends.
  The state contains 139 species and subspecies of native mammals, with the most important being white tailed deer, mule deer, wild sheep, bats, hares, squirrels, moles, beavers, coyotes, wolves, foxes, jaguars, and mountain lions. Amphibians and reptiles include frogs and toads, desert tortoises, chameleons, gila monsters, rattlesnakes and other types of snakes. The number of bird species native to the state is not known, but major species include roadrunners, quail, turkeys, buzzards and doves.
caption: Laguna Náinari
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