The ecoregion covers an area of approximately 29,900 sq mi (77,000 km2)[3] The dry forests lie in the coastal plain and foothills between the Pacific Ocean and the pine-oak forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental, covering most of Sinaloa and Nayarit states and extending into portions of adjacent Sonora, Chihuahua, and Jalisco states.

In the mountain canyons higher up are taller-statured forests, with Ceiba acuminata, Bursera simaruba, Lysiloma divaricatum, and Psidium sartorianum as the dominant trees, covered in abundant lianas and epiphytes.

[4] Large mammals include white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), javelina (Tayassu tajacu), jaguar (Panthera onca), coyote (Canis latrans), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis pardalis), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus nigrirostris), raccoon (Procyon lotor mexicanus), and white-nosed coati (Nasua narica molaris).

[5] Native birds characteristic of the dry forests include the rufous-bellied chachalaca (Ortalis wagleri), Orange-fronted parakeet (Aratinga canicularis), Citreoline trogon (Trogon citreolus), russet-crowned motmot (Momotus mexicanus), streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus), Mexican cacique (Cacicus melanicterus), thick-billed kingbird (Tyrannus crassirostris), Sinaloa wren (Thryothorus sinaloae), Mexican woodnymph (Eupherusa ridgwayi), Mexican parrotlet (Forpus cyanopygius), Sinaloa crow (Corvus sinaloae), San Blas jay (Cyanocorax sanblasianus), purplish-backed jay (Cyanocorax beecheii), black-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta colliei), rufous-backed thrush (Turdus rufopalliatus), and elegant quail (Callipepla douglasii).

There are several designated Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) in the ecoregion, including Marismas Nacionales and the Ceuta Lagoon system.