The Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (Eje Volcánico Transversal) is a mountain range that extends 900 km from west to east across central Mexico. The most general definition of mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ...

It runs from Jalisco east through northern Michoacán, southern Guanajuato, southern Querétaro, México State, southern Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, northern Morelos and Puebla to southern Veracruz. In central Mexico, its north flank joins the southern ends of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental ranges, and its south flank the Sierra Madre del Sur. Other Mexican States Capital Guadalajara Other major cities Puerto Vallarta Ciudad Guzmán list of municipalities Area 80,386 km² Ranked 6th Population (2000 census) 6,321,280 Ranked 4th Governor (2001-07) Francisco Javier Ramírez Acuña (PAN) Federal Deputies (19) PRI = 13 PAN = 6 Federal Senators PAN... Other Mexican States Capital Morelia Other major cities Lázaro Cárdenas list of municipalities Area 59,928 km² Ranked 16th Population (2000 census) 3,979,180 Ranked 7th Governor (2002-08) Lázaro Cárdenas Batel (PRD) Federal Deputies (13) PRD = 9 PRI = 2 PAN = 1 disputed = 1 Federal... Other Mexican States Capital Guanajuato Other major cities León, Salamanca, list of municipalities Area 30,491 km² Ranked 22nd Population (2000 census) 4,656,760 Ranked 6th Governor (2000-06) Juan Carlos Romero Hicks (PAN/PVEM) Federal Deputies (15) PAN = 12 PRI/PVEM = 2 PRD = 1 Federal Senators PAN... Other Mexican States Capital Santiago de Querétaro Other major cities San Juan del Río list of municipalities Area 11,449 km² Ranked 27th Population (2000 census) 1,402,010 Ranked 24th Governor (2003-09) Francisco Garrido Patrón ( PAN) Federal Deputies (4) PAN = 3 PRI/ PVEM = 1 Federal... The United Mexican States, or Mexico, is a federal republic, comprising 31 states. ... This article is about the Mexican state. ... Tlaxcala is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Other Mexican States Capital Cuernavaca Other major cities Cuautla list of municipalities Area 4,950 km² Ranked 30th Population (2000 census) 1,552,880 Ranked 22nd Governor (2000-06) Sergio Estrada Cajigal Ramírez (PAN) Federal Deputies (4) PAN = 2 PRI = 2 Federal Senators PAN = 2 PRI = 1 ISO 3166... Puebla is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Veracruz is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico and the extreme southwest of the United States, extending 1500 km from southeast Arizona (south and east of Tucson) southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins with the Sierra Madre Oriental and... The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico, extending 1000 km from Coahuila south through Nuevo León, southwest Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, to northern Puebla and Querétaro, where it joins with the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Eje Volcánico Transversal of central Mexico. ... The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending 1000 km from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Istmo de Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. ...

The highest point, also the highest point in Mexico, is Pico de Orizaba (5610 m) also known as Citlaltépetl, located at 19°01′ N 97°16′ W (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=19_01_N_97_16_W_). This, and several of the other higher peaks, are active or dormant volcanoes; other notable volcanoes in the range include (from west to east) Nevado de Colima (4339 m), Paricutín (2774 m), Nevado de Toluca (4577 m), Popocatépetl (5452 m), Iztaccíhuatl (5286 m), Matlalcueitl (4461 m) and Cofre de Perote (4282 m). Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltépetl (in English: Orizaba Peak) is the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest volcano in the Western Hemisphere. ... A volcano is a geological landform (usually a mountain) where magma (rock of the earths interior made molten or liquid by high pressure and temperature) erupts through the surface of the planet. ... Colima Volcano is the most active volcano in Mexico, and has erupted more than 40 times since 1576. ... Paricutín is a volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacán, close to the village of the same name. ... Popocatépetl (commonly referred to as Popo) is an active volcano and the second highest peak in Mexico after Pico de Orizaba (5,610m). ... Matlalcueitl (goddess) Matlalcueitl (also Matlalcueyetl or Matlalcueje) (She of the Green/Blue Skirt) is a goddess of life-giving rain and of song in Tlaxcalan mythology. ...

The mountains are home to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests, one of the Madrean pine-oak woodlands ecoregions. An ecoregion is a relatively large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. ...

External link

• Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests (World Wildlife Fund) (http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0310_full.html)