The Rio Laja Watershed

The Laja River, located in the state of Guanajuato in arid central Mexico, is a vital corridor of green essential for migratory and local wildlife and essential for the survival of local communities. The World Wildlife Fund has identified the region as a global priority for preservation. It rises into the mountains above one of Mexico's most productive breadbaskets and is a primary tributary of the Rio Lerma, one of Mexico's largest rivers and a major industrial corridor.

The Rio Laja is a tributary of the Rio Lerma, Mexico’s most important industrial corridor, which flows west to Lake Chapala. The Lerma ecoregion is considered globally outstanding by the World Wildlife Fund for its highly endemic fish fauna. Its degree of taxonomic endemism is “virtually unsurpassed in North America and is rare worldwide.”

The Laja rises in the mountains in the north and west of the State of Guanajuato. The main branch of the Laja is -------- kilometers long, with numerous tributaries along its upper length. It  fills a manmade lake near San Miguel before flowing south through one of Mexico’s largest bread baskets where fruits and vegetables are grown for export to the United States and Canada.

Compared to other rivers in the area, it is relatively unpolluted as there are no major  industries above San Miguel.

The Rio Laja was once a lush, meandering, wooded river, filled with water year round. Click here to see the Rio Laja story in pictures.

Today the Rio Laja watershed, the area whose many streams drain into the Presa Allende lake is severely damaged. In arid central Mexico the few trees in the region are usually found growing along riverbanks. But too many people have been cutting trees for firewood and too many goats and other animals have been uprooting plants. Severe erosion has resulted and the bald hillsides cannot retain rainfall or add to our underground water table. The streams and rivers are dry most of the year, and the rainy season itself is dangerous. Raging floods sweep away precious topsoil from farms and destroy property. The lost sediment is then dragged into our lake, the Presa Allende.

Restoration of the Rio Laja Watershed is being done by the non-profit conservation group Salvemos al Rio Laja, A.C. (“Save the Laja").

Statistics & Ratings

Size: 1,250,000 acres ---------------------kms.

Type: Endorheic (i.e. an interior drainage basin)

Altitude: 2,000 meter/6,000 feet

Precipitation:

Rainy Season: June and through September

Conservation Status: Wetlands rated priority area by North American Conservation Council and USDA Forest Service for their importance to migratory birds.

Watershed forest: Santa Rosa, rated as a priority area for conservation by the Mexican government and the USDA Forest Service.

Rivers: Biological Distinctiveness rated Globally Outstanding by WWF

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