The dry climate is a result of the rain shadow created by the Sierra de Chiconquiaco.

The forests receive <1,000 mm (39 in) of annual rainfall, and a long dry season forces many plants to be deciduous.

Epiphytes and shrubs in the genera Acacia, Bursera, Ficus, Phyllanthus, and Pithecellobium have the greatest diversity of species.

[2] Birds of the Veracruz dry forests include the sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), merlin (Falco columbarius), white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica), lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox), Mexican sheartail (Doricha eliza), Couch's kingbird (Tyrannus couchii), Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus), red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceous), magnolia warbler (Dendroia magnolia), and blue-black grassquit (Vilatinia jacarina).

The area is rich in herpetofauna[2] such as the black-spotted newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis), and Tabasco mud turtle (Kinosternon acutum).