| El Cielo Biosphere Reserve | |
|---|---|
 Cloud forest vegetation in El Cielo | |
  Location in northeast Mexico | |
| Location | Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Nearest town | Gómez Farías Municipality, Tamaulipas |
| Coordinates | 23°04′N 99°12′W / 23.06°N 99.20°W |
| Area | 144,530 hectares (558.0 sq mi) |
| Established | 1987 |
The El Cielo Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera El Cielo in Spanish) is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental in the southern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas near the town of Gómez Farias. The reserve protects the northernmost extension of tropical forest and cloud forest in Mexico. It has an area of 144,530 hectares (357,100 acres; 558.0 sq mi) made up mostly of steep mountains rising from about 200 metres (660 ft) to a maximum altitude of more than 2,300 metres (7,500 ft).[1]
The state of Tamaulipas protected the area in 1985 and in 1987 it was formally recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme.[2]
- ^ Comision Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, http://www2.inecc.gob.mx/publicaciones/libros/2/cielo.html Archived 2014-12-18 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 18 Dec 2014
- ^ "Gomez Farias Region and El Cielo Biosphere Reserve", http://www.botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/ma/ma9.htm Archived 2015-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 18 Dec 2014