[2] This ecoregion forms a transition belt between the Sonoran Desert to the north and the Sinaloan dry forests to the south, running south from the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental highlands of the state of Sonora to the Pacific Ocean coasts of Sonora and Sinaloa.

It covers an area of 51,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi) from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

[2] Large mammals include white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), javelina (Dicotyles tajacu), jaguar (Panthera onca), and coyote (Canis latrans).

[2] Birds of the ecoregion include the black-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta colliei).

This woodland is vulnerable to logging and clearance for livestock grazing, particularly around the cities of Navojoa, Álamos, and Sinaloa de Leyva.