Copper Canyon Tid Bits

Copper Canyon Formation

The Copper Canyon system began during the Tertiary Era, 40 million years ago. At that time the northwestern region of Mexico was going through an extreme period of volcanic activity that lasted for 15 million years. Thousands of volcanoes were erupting all over the region, covering everything with lava and ash. Those lava and ash deposits formed plateaus, some of which have a thickness of more than three kilometers. At the same time, fierce tectonic activity was predominant, which resulted in earthquakes that created gigantic geological faults. These faults left fractures in the plateaus. The fractures then filled up with rainwater and along with 'weathering' thus shaped the network of rivers in the mountain range, a. Their currents deepened the canyons and engraved the contours that we see today.

Flora, Fauna & Wildlife

There is an abundance of incomparable flora and fauna and a large number of rare species found only in this part of the world. The plateaus are covered with vast forests, which are mainly pine but also include some oak, madrone, alder, juniper and poplar. There are 15 species of pine and as many as 25 species of oak. The vegetation at the bottoms of the canyons is an array of semi-arid and semi-tropical, depending entirely on the humidity and microclimate. There are cactuses of all different sizes. Also all classes of shrubs and bushes, as well as larger trees such as poplars, willows, ceibas, fig trees and countless others.

There are 20 different varieties of amphibians, 87 species of reptiles and 50 types of freshwater fish. Some of the fish are edible such as the catfish, bluegill sunfish, sardine, black bass, rainbow trout, carp and the Alberca silverside.