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The Sierra del Carmen, also called the Sierra Maderas del Carmen, is a northern finger of the Sierra Madre Oriental in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. The Sierra begins at the Rio Grande at Big Bend National Park and extends southeast for about , reaching a maximum elevation of . Part of the Sierra del Carmen is protected in the Maderas del Carmen Biosphere Reserve as part of a bi-national effort to conserve a large portion of the Chihuahua Desert in Mexico and Texas.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2007/The-Treasure-of-the-Sierra-del-Carmen.aspx )〕 ==Geography== Some authorities include the Chisos and other mountains of Big Bend National Park as part of the Sierra del Carmen. From the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, the Sierra runs southeast for about to 28’ 40° North latitude and a maximum width of about . Elevations increase toward the south culminating in several peaks with heights of more than and a maximum altitude of .〔Google Earth〕 The western side of the Sierra del Carmen features a high limestone escarpment that formed along a fault line.〔"Del Carmen Limestone" http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/sgmc-unit.php?unit=TXKdm%3B0, accessed 12 Mar 2013〕 The Sierra del Carmen is an isolated range, a sky island, that rises above the Chihuahua Desert. Because of its elevation, higher than any other mountain ranges in the Bolson de Mapimi, the Sierra del Carmen is home to flora and fauna that are more characteristic of the mountains of the western United States than Mexico. At lower elevations, desert vegetation surrounds the higher elevations. Oak and oak-pine forests are found at elevations of . Above 5,900 feet, the forest is dominated by pine. Conifer species such as Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, and Durango fir are found at elevations of or more. The Sierra del Carmen is home to 446 species of birds, 3,600 species of insects, more than 1,500 plant species, and 75 mammals.〔"U.S., Mexico Announce Binational Cooperative Conservation Action Plan" News Release. U.S. Department of the Interior, 24 October 2011〕 Among the mammals are American black bear, beaver, and cougar.〔"Sierra Maderas del Carmen" RTP-72, http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/regionalizacion/doctos/rtp_072.pdf, accessed 13 Mar 2013; McCormack, John "Conserving Evolutionary Process in the Sky Islands of Northern Mexico" http://www.environment.ucla.edu/media/files/McCormack-Article-FIN2.pdf, accessed 13 Mar 2013〕 A small subspecies of white-tail deer, the Carmen Mountains white-tailed deer is found in the Sierra.〔Carmen Mountain White-Tailed Deer" http://lower48plus.com/species-notes/untitled-12.html, accessed 13 Mar 2013〕 Extirpated from the region and not at present found in the Sierra are pronghorn and the Mexican wolf. There are no rivers, paved highways, or towns in the Sierra, which has been called one of the most remote places on earth.〔"Sky island: El Sierra del Carmen" http://mexicolesstraveled.com/sierradelcarmen.htm, accessed 13 Mar 2013〕 Drainage of the mountains is by small, mostly ephemeral streams on the east side of the Sierra is to the Rio Grande. Off the western side of the Sierra, small streams leaving the mountains disappear quickly in the desert of the Bolson de Mapimi.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sierra del Carmen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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