Sky island: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

For the fantasy novel by L. Frank Baum, see Sky Island.

Sky islands are mountains in ranges isolated by valleys in which other ecosystems are located. As a result, the mountain ecosystems are isolated from each other, and species can develop in parallel, as on island groups such as the Galapagos.

The best known examples of sky islands is an area including parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Chihuahua and Sonora, on the United States-Mexico border.

Other sky islands can be found in the Great Basin, Venezuela, and in Africa.