The Mexican Tableland: The High Plateau Between the Sierra Madres

The vast elevated region between Mexico's two great north-south mountain ranges—the Sierra Madre Occidental (west) and Sierra Madre Oriental (east)—is the Mexican Tableland (Mesa Central), also called the Interior Highlands.

Geographic Definition

• Extent: ~1,000 km north-south (US border to Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt), 200–500 km wide
• Elevation: 1,000–2,500 m (3,300–8,200 ft) — mostly 1,800–2,200 m
• Area: ~600,000 km² (30% of Mexico)
• Drainage: Endorheic basins (Bolsón de Mapimí, Llanos El Salado) + rivers to Pacific (Lerma-Santiago, Balsas) & Gulf (Pánuco, Soto la Marina)

Sub-Regions

• Northern Tableland (Mesa del Norte): Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas. Arid, basins & ranges, mining (silver, gold, lead), ranching.
• Central Tableland (Mesa Central / Anáhuac): San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Mexico City, Puebla, Tlaxcala. Temperate, volcanic soils, dense population, industry, agriculture.

Climate & Ecology

• Temperate semi-arid to subhumid. Summer rains (Jun–Sep), dry winter.
• Vegetation: Grassland, scrub (matorral), oak-pine forest (higher), cacti (lower).
• Biodiversity: Endemic reptiles, rodents, birds. Monarch butterfly overwintering (Michoacán/Mexico State border).

Human Geography

• Metro areas: Mexico City (22M), Guadalajara (5.3M), León (1.9M), Puebla (3.2M), Querétaro (1.6M), San Luis Potosí (1.2M), Aguascalientes (1.1M)
• Economy: Manufacturing (auto, aerospace, electronics), mining, agriculture (corn, beans, wheat, strawberries), services
• History: Cradle of Mesoamerican civilizations (Teotihuacan, Toltec, Aztec), Spanish colonial silver cities, Independence & Revolution heartland

Boundaries

• West: Sierra Madre Occidental (volcanic, copper canyons — Barrancas del Cobre)
• East: Sierra Madre Oriental (limestone, cloud forests, Monterrey at foothills)
• South: Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, Nevado de Toluca)
• North: Chihuahuan Desert / US Border (Rio Grande / Río Bravo)