The Mixteca Alta Geopark is located in the most complex geological region of Mexico. It is situated in the boundary of two tectonostratigraphic terranes and consists of Precambrian and Paleozoic metamorphic and plutonic rocks that make up the complex basement, a carpet of Mesozoic rocks and Cenozoic volcanic flow rock and continental sediments.

It is located in the Sierra Madre del Sur physiographic province, a mountain region bounded on the north by the Mexican Volcanic Belt, has some of the most important traces of Mesoamerican culture and is characterized by a variety of conspicuous erosional features strongly related to traditional farming practices carried out for more than 3500 years. Through these features, the relationship between geology and society are promoted among members of the general and specialized public. Geosites include gullies, badlands, erosive amphitheaters derived from fluvial and mass-wasting processes, alluvial deposits, palaeosols, intrusive magmatic features and examples of spheroidal weathering.