The Tamaulipan matorral extends along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental range in northeastern Mexico, extending from central Tamaulipas state across central Nuevo León. The ecoregion covers an area of . The humid Veracruz moist forests lie to the southeast, on the Gulf Coastal Plain of southern Tamaulipas and Veracruz states; the Tamaulipan mezquital lies in the Rio Grande lowlands to the east and northeast. The Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests occupy higher elevations of the Sierra Madre Oriental range to the west.