enclosed depression in northern Mexico. Situated in the arid Mesa del Norte and averaging 3,000 feet (900 metres) in elevation, it is structurally similar to the Basin and Range Province in the United States. Although once considered unreclaimable desert, with irrigation it supports cotton, wheat, and alfalfa (lucerne). The Laguna District lies in the southern portion of the basin. The chief cities, linked by railroad and highway, include Gómez Palacio, in the state of Durango, and Torreón and San Pedro de las Colonias, in Coahuila. Area 50,000 square miles (129,500 square km).