Toluca Valley is a valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 located approximately 75 km southwest Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

. The modern city of Toluca

Toluca

Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...

 is located there. Other municipalities within valley and part of the Toluca metropolitan area include Metepec

Metepec

Metepec is a city and municipality in the State of Mexico in Mexico and is located directly to the east of the state capital, Toluca, at an altitude of 2,635 metres above sea level. The centre of Mexico City lies some 50 km further to the east. The name Metepec comes from Náhuatl meaning hill of...

, Calimaya

Calimaya

Calimaya is a town and municipality located just south of Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico in central Mexico. The settlement was probably established around 800 BCE, when the city of Teotenango was in existence. It remained an important town through the colonial period, part of the vast...

, Almoloya de Juárez, San Mateo Atenco

San Mateo Atenco

San Mateo Atenco is a city and a municipality located in the State of México in Mexico. It lies west of the Federal District near the municipality of Metepec, in the central part of the state of México, and is part of the Toluca urban area bordering the city to the east. Atenco is derived from the...

, Lerma, Lago

Lago

Lago, which means "lake" in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, may refer to:-Places:Italy*Lago, Calabria, a comune in the Province of CosenzaMexico*Lago, Mexico, a municipality zone in the State of MexicoMozambique...

, Temoaya

Temoaya

Temoaya is a town and municipality in Mexico State, Mexico, It is located from Toluca and from Mexico City. It is known for its large ethnic Otomi population, the Centro Ceremonial Otomí and its tradition of making Persian style rugs using Mexican designs....

, Otzolotepec

Otzolotepec

Otzolotepec is a town and municipality in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 127.95 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 67,611.-References:...

 and Xonacatatlan.

The Toluca Valley contains the upper reaches of the Lerma River

Lerma River

The Lerma Santiago River is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near Guadalajara, Jalisco...

, which runs the length of the valley from southeast to northwest.

The Toluca Valley is part of the Central Mexican matorral

Central Mexican matorral

The Central Mexican matorral is an ecoregion of the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome of central Mexico.-Setting:The Central Mexican matorral covers an area of on the southern portion of the Mexican Plateau....

 ecoregion. The surrounding mountains are part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests

The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.-Setting:...

.