in Michoacan extends for a distance of
about 200 kilometers (airline) from the Rio Coahuayana to the Rio
Balsas. The coastal plain is broad between the Rio Coahuayana and San
Juan de Lima, and between Las Penas and the Rio Balsas, where the hills
rise some 12 kilometers inland from the sea. Between San Juan de Lima
and Las Penas the mountains extend to the sea; in this region rocky
promontories form precipitous cliffs dropping into the sea. Between the
promontories are small sandy or rocky beaches.

Lying to the north of the Sierra de Coalcoman and the Sierra del Sur,
but south of the Cordillera Volcanica, is a broad structural depression,
the Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin. The western part of this basin, which
separates the Sierra de Coalcoman from the Cordillera Volcanica, is the
valley of the Rio Tepalcatepec, a major tributary of the Rio Balsas. The
eastern part of the basin is the valley of the Rio Balsas. From the
point of junction of the two rivers, the Rio Balsas flows southward
through a narrow gorge, which separates the Sierra de Coalcoman from
the Sierra del Sur, to the Pacific Ocean. In Michoacan the floor of the
Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin varies from 200 to 700 meters above sea level.

The central part of Mexico is a vast table-land, the Mexican Plateau,
the southern part of which extends into northern Michoacan. In this
region the terrain is rolling and varies from 1500 to 1900 meters above
sea level. Many small mountain ranges rise from the plateau and break
the continuity of the rolling table-land. Located on the southern part
of the Mexican Plateau in Michoacan are several lakes, the largest of
which are Lago de Chapala, Lago de Cuitzeo, and Lago de Patzcuaro.

Bordering the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau is a nearly unbroken
chain of volcanos, the Cordillera Volcanica. The highest peaks in
Michoacan, Cerro San Andres (3930 meters) and Cerro de Tancitaro (3870
meters), are in this range. Parts of the Cordillera Volcanica in
Michoacan are known by separate names; these are, from west to east:
Sierra de los Tarascos, Sierra de Ozumatlan, and Serrania de Ucareo.

Lying between the Tepalcatepec Valley and the Pacific Ocean, and east of
the Rio Coahuayana and west of the Rio Balsas, is an isolated highland
mass, the Sierra de Coalcoman. This mountain range rises to elevations
of slightly more than 3000 meters. It has a length of about 200
kilometers and a width of about 80 kilometers. Except for a relati