Aridoamerica is a term used to describe the northern region of Mexico, in contrast to Mesoamerica (the south). There came a need to do this because of the vast differences between these two regions. Unlike mesoamerica, aridoamerico had a dry, arid climate and geography. Because of the hard conditions, the people in this region were nomadic. The indegenous groups that occupied this lands came to be known as Chichimecas, word that meant barbaric, or uncivilized. The current Mexican states that lie in Aridoamerica are: Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... The Chichimeca are a group of nomads in northern Mexico. ...

• Aguascalientes
• Baja California
• Baja California Sur
• Coahuila
• Chihuahua
• Durango
• Nuevo León
• San Luis Potosí
• Sonora
• Tamaulipas
• Zacatecas

The northern parts of: Aguascalientes is a state of Mexico, situated in the center of the country. ... Baja California is the northernmost state of Mexico. ... Baja California Sur is one of the 31 States of Mexico, occupying the part of the Baja California Peninsula south of the 28th parallel. ... Coahuila (formal name: Coahuila de Zaragoza) is one of Mexicos 31 component states. ... The state of Chihuahua is the largest of the 31 states of Mexico and is located in the northwestern part of the country. ... Durango (IPA pronunciation ) is one of the constituent states of Mexico. ... Nuevo León (Spanish for New León, after the former kingdom in Spain) is a state located in north-eastern Mexico. ... The Mexican state of San Luis Potosí has an area of 62,848 km². It is in the north-central part of the republic, bordered by the Mexican states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Zacatecas. ... Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ... Tamaulipas is a state in the northeast of Mexico. ... Zacatecas is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. ...

• Hidalgo
• Guanajuato
• Querétaro
• Jalisco
• Sinaloa