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Dry Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plains and Hills

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Name	†	Color on Map	CEC Code‡
Coastal Plain with Low Tropical Deciduous and Thorn Forest	○		14.1.1
Hills and Sierra with Low Tropical Deciduous Forest and Oak Forest	○		14.1.2

† Status: ✓ = Complete ○ = Needs Image … = Incomplete ∅ = Stub Only

‡ This code refers to the CEC's Level 3 ecoregion codes for North America, see here.

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↑About the Dry Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plains and Hills

The Dry Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plains and Hills is a level II ecoregion located on the gulf coast of Mexico, in southern Tamaulipas, northwesternmost Veracruz, and northeastern San Luis Potosi.

The climate is a tropical savannah climate, with hot, wet summers, and warmer winters with lower rainfall. Although winter temperatures are cooler, this region is reliably frost-free. And although winters have lower rainfall, humidity in the air is still high, owing to the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

Naturally, this area was covered by tropical dry forests, and significant portions of these still remain. There are also significant wetlands, especially along the Río Tamesí, and in the regions behind the coastal barrier islands. Significant portions of this area has been converted to croplands, and some developed for urban areas. This region is more populated than regions to the north, but less so than areas to the southeast and west.

To the northeast, along the coast, the rainfall decreases and this region transitions into the Texas-Louisiana Coastal Plain; inland to the north, it transitions into the relatively more barren brushland of the Tamaulipas-Texas Semiarid Plain. To the west lie the Eastern Sierra Madre mountains. To the south, total rainfall increases, but retains the same pattern of seasonality, and this region transitions into the Humid Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and Hills.