States in the region
| State | Capital | Population (2020) | Area km² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chihuahua | Chihuahua | 3,741,869 | 247,455 |
| Coahuila | Saltillo | 3,146,771 | 151,563 |
| Durango | Durango | 1,832,650 | 123,364 |
| Nuevo León | Monterrey | 5,784,442 | 64,156 |
| Sonora | Hermosillo | 2,944,840 | 179,355 |
| Tamaulipas | Ciudad Victoria | 3,527,735 | 80,249 |
These six states cover 846,142 km², about 43 per cent of Mexico's land area, but held only 20,978,307 people at the 2020 census — roughly one Mexican in six. Average density is about 25 people per km² against a national 64. Chihuahua is the largest state in the country and Nuevo León the most populous in the north. Five of the six touch the United States; only Durango does not, and Nuevo León's frontage is a single 15 km stretch at the Colombia crossing. Broader definitions of el norte add Baja California, Sinaloa, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí.
Geography
Two deserts and two mountain ranges set the pattern. The Sierra Madre Occidental runs the length of Chihuahua and Durango at 2,000–3,000 m, dropping west into the Sonoran Desert and east onto the Chihuahuan plateau; the Chihuahuan Desert, about 360,000 km², is the largest in North America. In the Occidental's western escarpment the Barrancas del Cobre — the Copper Canyon system — cut six gorges, the deepest at Urique about 1,879 m. The Sierra Madre Oriental closes the region on the east, rising behind Monterrey in the limestone walls of Cumbres de Monterrey and reaching Cerro San Rafael in Coahuila at about 3,700 m, the region's highest point.
Between the two ranges lies a chain of closed basins. The Bolsón de Mapimí, where Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila meet, has no outlet to the sea: the Nazas and Aguanaval rivers die in it, and their water built the irrigated cotton and dairy district of La Laguna around Torreón. The Río Bravo (Rio Grande) forms about 2,000 km of the 3,145 km US–Mexico border, fed on the Mexican side mainly by the Río Conchos out of the Chihuahuan sierra. Sonora drains west to the Gulf of California through the Yaqui and Mayo rivers, and Tamaulipas east to the Gulf of Mexico.
Main cities and sights
Monterrey is the industrial capital of the north and the anchor of the region's economy. The other state capitals are Chihuahua, Saltillo, Durango, Hermosillo and Ciudad Victoria. The border strip holds the largest cities after Monterrey: Ciudad Juárez opposite El Paso, Nuevo Laredo, through which more freight moves than any other crossing in the hemisphere, Reynosa, Matamoros, Piedras Negras and Nogales. On the coasts, Guaymas and neighbouring San Carlos face the Gulf of California, and Tampico is the old oil port of southern Tamaulipas.
The set-piece landscapes are the Copper Canyon rim at Divisadero and Creel, the desert springs and gypsum dunes of Cuatro Ciénegas in Coahuila, the volcanic field of El Pinacate in northern Sonora, and the colonial centres of Durango and Chihuahua, both built on 16th-century silver. Paquimé at Casas Grandes, a Chihuahuan adobe city abandoned around 1450, is the region's main archaeological site.
When to go and getting around
The season runs October to April; summer in the desert basins is severe and the mountains take most of their rain from July to September. Monterrey (MTY) is the busiest airport, with Chihuahua (CUU), Hermosillo (HMO), Torreón (TRC), Durango (DGO), Tampico (TAM) and Ciudad Juárez (CJS) behind it — see the airports map. By road, MX-85D links Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey and on to Mexico City (about 900 km, 9 h from Monterrey); MX-45 runs Ciudad Juárez–Chihuahua–Durango; MX-40D crosses the Sierra Madre Occidental from Durango to Mazatlán over the Baluarte bridge, 403 m above the river; and MX-15 is the Pacific corridor from Nogales through Hermosillo. Sonora keeps UTC−7 all year, most of Chihuahua moved to Central time in 2022, and the rest of the region is on UTC−6, as shown on the time zones map.
Questions about northern Mexico
Which states are in northern Mexico?
This map covers the six states usually called el norte: Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas. Baja California, Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas are sometimes counted as northern too, depending on the definition used.
What is the largest city in northern Mexico?
Monterrey. The municipality had 1,142,994 people in 2020 and the metropolitan area about 5.3 million, making it the third-largest urban area in Mexico after Mexico City and Guadalajara.
How do you visit the Copper Canyon?
By the Chihuahua al Pacífico railway (Chepe), which runs 653 km between Los Mochis on the Pacific and Chihuahua city, climbing to 2,400 m at Creel. Divisadero, on the canyon rim, is the usual overnight stop.
When is the best time to visit northern Mexico?
October to April. Summer highs pass 40 °C in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, while the Chihuahua plateau and the Sierra Madre Occidental drop below freezing on winter nights and can hold snow above 2,000 m.
Is northern Mexico safe to visit?
Advisory levels differ sharply from state to state and are revised several times a year: Nuevo León and Sonora are usually rated lower than Tamaulipas. Check the current US State Department advisory for every state you plan to enter, including the border crossing you intend to use.