The central state of Hidalgo spreads across a territory of 20,846 sq. km., which represents just 1% of the national total. It shares its borders with the neighboring states of Queretaro, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz to the north; Queretaro to the west; Veracruz to the east; and Puebla, Tlaxcala and the state of Mexico to the south.

The coastal plains of the Gulf located in the south, provides the state with a low flat land home to species such as the huizache, mezquite, prickly pear and wild lettuce, as well as hare and owl. Across the central and northern parts of the state, the landscape is dominated by the presence of the local mountains that take part in the chain known as the Eastern Sierra Madre, and which include the Zacualtipan, Jacala, Zimapan and Pachuca sierras, which present a predominance of pine, oak, fir and juniper forests, as well as species such as the white tail deer, jaguar and ounce. Quite different in fact to the fauna and flora found in the Huasteca sierra, usually covered by fine woods like the copal, mahogany and ebony, and home to animal species such as the opossum, porcupine, wild cat, badger, quail and wild turkey.

As part of the Eastern Sierra Madre, eight peaks reach altitudes over 2,000 meters : Cerros la Peñuela at 3,350 meters, El Jijuingo at 3,240, La paila at 3,200, Las Navajas at 3,180, El Agua Azul at 3,040, La Estancia at 3,020, Los Pitos at 3,000, and the Cerro Ojo de Agua at 2,180 meters over sea level.

The main hydrological basin is that of the Moctezuma river, which includes a number of perennial rivers : the Amajac, Grande-Tulancingo, Tula, Claro, El Marques, Tempoal, Calabozo, Chiflon, Tepeji, Salado, Atempa, San Pedro, San Francisco, Calnali, Alfajayucan, Chicavasco, and Tecozautla rivers.

On the other hand, many different climates converge in the state of Hidalgo, the main three of which cover 77% of the state and consist of temperate sub-humid with rainy summers, semi-dry temperate also with wet summers, and semi-hot humid.