Los Nevados National Natural Park
| Los Nevados National Natural Park | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Los Nevados National Park | |
| Location | Caldas, Risaralda, Quindío and Tolima, Colombia |
| Nearest city | Manizales |
| Area | 58,300 hectares (225 sq mi) |
| Established | 1973 |
| Governing body | SINAP |
| www | |
Los Nevados National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados) is a national park located in the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. The 5,300-meter high volcano Nevado del Ruiz is dominating Los Nevados. Out of the 55 protected areas in Colombia,[1] Los Nevados National Natural Park was the third most visited in 2009, with 50,045 visitors. The most visited was the Rosario and San Bernardo Corals National Natural Park followed by the Tayrona National Natural Park.[2]
General
In addition to Nevado del Ruiz, seven other volcanoes are located in the area, Nevado del Tolima, Santa Isabel, Nevado del Quindío, Páramo de Santa Rosa, Cerro Bravo, Cerro Machín and Nevado El Cisne.
Glacial activity has shaped the landscape 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above mean sea level, leaving U-shaped valleys and moraines behind. Extrusive igneous rock are dominant above 3,500 m (11,500 ft) on the eastern slope and 2,200 m (7,200 ft) on the western slope.[3] The Otún Lake, lying in extinct volcano crater,[4] and Green Lake are located in the area.
The park's hydrographic networks supply water to over 2,000,000 coffee-growers in the region, and to most of the rice and cotton crops in the Tolima Department.[4]
The park is located in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima and divided in the municipalities, Villamaría, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Pereira, Salento, Ibagué.
Flora and fauna
The area is home to 1250 species of vascular plants, 200 bryophytes, 300 lichens and 180 macroscopic fungi.[3]
On the lower slopes and in the valleys the Andean wax palms are dominant. The upper Andean forest has trees reaching up to 30 metres (98 ft) in height.[4]
Noteworthy birds include Blue-crowned Motmot, Yellow-eared Parrot, Fuertes's Parrot, Rufous-fronted Parakeet, Andean Condor, Brown-banded Antpitta and Ruddy Duck. The Bearded Helmetcrest hummingbird is endemic to the region.[3][4][5] Noteworthy mammals include Mountain Tapir, Spectacled Bear, Northern Pudú, Oncilla and Cougar, White-eared Opossum.[4]
Footnotes
- ^ "Los parques" (in Spanish). Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "Parque Corales del Rosario es el más visitado en Colombia" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Rangel-Ch., J. Orlando; Garzón-C., Aída (1997). "Region of Los Nevados Natural National Park". In Davis, S.D.; Heywood, V.H.; Herrera-MacBryde, O.; Villa-Lobos, J. (eds.). Centres of Plant Diversity: A Guide and Strategy for Their Conservation. Volume 3: The Americas. Cambridge, England: World Wide Fund for Nature, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. ISBN 2831701996. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
{{cite book}}: More than one of|editor1-first=and|editor-first=specified (help); More than one of|editor1-last=and|editor-last=specified (help). - ^ a b c d e "Nature & Science Los Nevados". Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ IUCN 1982, p. 144
References
- IUCN (1982), IUCN directory of neotropical protected areas (in Spanish and English), IUCN, ISBN 9780907567622.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Villegas, Benjamin; Sesana, Laura (2007), Colombia Natural Parks, Villegas Asociados, ISBN 9789588156873.
External links
Media related to Parque Nacional Natural de los Nevados at Wikimedia Commons
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