<Li> Trans - Mexican Volcanic Belt - S </Li> <Li> (Cordillera Neovolcanica) </Li> <P> The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest--southeast through Northwestern and Western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California . The Sierra Madre is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and Antarctica . </P> <P> The Spanish name sierra madre means "mother mountains" and occidental means "western" in English, with these being the "Western Mother Mountains". To the east, from the Spanish oriental meaning "eastern" in English, the Sierra Madre Oriental range or "Eastern Mother Mountains" run generally parallel to the Sierra Madre Occidental along eastern Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico . </P>

Where is the sierra madre mountains located in mexico