MESA DEL NORTE

also called Northern Plateau, the northern section of the Mexican Plateau, sloping gently upward to the south for more than 700 miles (1,100 km) from the U.S.Mexico border to the Zacatecas Mountains. Mesa del Norte largely spans the country from coast to coast and is bordered by the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east and the Sierra Madre Occidental on the west. Much of the region is arid land broken by mountains and salt-encrusted flats or depressions, locally called bolsnes; the sparse population is largely concentrated in the few irrigable areas such as the upper part of the Salado River valley, where wheat is grown, and the Laguna Basin, which produces much of Mexico's cotton. Other crops include corn (maize), beans, and alfalfa, and large areas of the more arid land are utilized as rangeland. The area yields significant amounts of lead and zinc as well as some iron and silver.