| When people talk about the Sierra
Madre, they refer to a great mountain range in either eastern or
western Mexico.
But if we're talking about the part of the country
made famous in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the novel by B. Traven,
then we're referring to the Sierra Madre Occidental (Western Sierra
Madre), which stretches from the U.S.–Mexico border to the
states of Chihuahua and Durango.
The 1,300-kilometer (806-mile) Sierra Madre Occidental range, blanketed
by thick pine and oak forests, presides over coastal plains to the
west and the Chihuahuan Desert to the east, covers more than one-third
of the state of Chihuahua. Copper Canyon is the principal natural
attractions in the region, but be sure to take time to explore the
archaeological ruins of Paquimé and the ever-mysterious Zone
of Silence in Durango's Mapimi Biosphere Reserve.
The Sierra Madre Occidental is one of the most ecologically diverse
areas in Mexico. There are as many as 100 species of oak and 20
species of pine, including Pinus ponderosa and Picea chihuahuana.
Thirty percent of Mexico's land mammals are found in the Sierra
Madre. You might see tracks of the black bear, mountain lion, otter,
white-tailed deer, or Mexican wolf.
There are numerous environmental trips available in the area. Packaged
tours of the Copper Canyon are becoming more and more common as
individual travelers and travel agencies discover this park. But
backpackers will find they have the edge in seeing the rural areas,
far from the vista of the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad
Unfortunately, for the most part tourism here downplays conservation
efforts. In fact, many of the hotel owners in the town of Creel,
the tourism hub, also own the sawmills. Forestry is still the state's
number one industry, and tourism is just gaining a toehold. Genuine
community-led ecotourism projects are just taking off in Cusárare
and in Uruachi, deep in the heart of canyon country.
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