Natural monuments of Mexico

Mexico's natural monuments (or Monumentos Naturales in Spanish) are protected natural areas.

Five areas – Bonampak, Cerro de La Silla, Río Bravo del Norte, Yagul, and Yaxchilán – are designated by the Mexican federal government and are administrated by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP). Six others are designated and administered by state governments.^[1]

CONANP defines Natural Monuments as areas that contain one or more natural elements, that have a unique character, aesthetic, historic, or scientific value, that require absolute protection. Sites do not need to have a variety of ecosystems to be included in this category.^[2]

List of natural monuments

As of September 2021, there were eleven sites in Mexico designated as natural monuments.^[1]

Bernal de Horcasitas in Tamaulipas (156.77 km² km²). Designated in 1997.
Bonampak in Chiapas (43.57 km²). Designated in 1993.
Cerro del Muerto in Aguascalientes (58.36 km²). Designated in 2008.
Cerro de la Silla in Nuevo Leon (60.39 km²). Designated in 1991.
El Sótano de Las Golondrinas in San Luis Potosí (2.82 km²). Designated in 2001.
Gruta del Cerro Coconá in Tabasco (2.85 km²). Designated in 1988.
La Hoya de las Huahuas in San Luis Potosí (4.06 km²). Designated in 2001.
Río Bravo del Norte Natural Monument in Coahuila (21.75 km²). Designated in 2009.
Siete Luminarias Volcanic Region in Guanajuato (89.28 km²). Designated in 1997.
Yagul in Oaxaca (10.76 km²). Designated in 1999.
Yaxchilan in Chiapas (26.21 km²). Designated in 1992.

References

^ ^a ^b UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Mexico from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 2 October 2021. [1]
^ "CONANP's Natural Monuments page" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-03-02.