The Santa Marta montane forests lie above . The montane forests are separated from other moist forests by the lower-elevation dry forests and xeric shrublands, and have large numbers of endemic species. The montane forest ecoregion has several distinct plant communities, distinguished by altitude and rainfall; moist lowland forests cover the windward northern and western flanks of the range between , and the drier eastern and southern flanks from . Above is a transitional forest zone of smaller trees and palms. Cloud forests occur above ; the Sub-Andean forests from form a canopy tall, while the higher-elevation Andean forests, between , grow to in height.