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El Cajas National Park
El Cajas National Park or Cajas National Park ( es, Parque Nacional El Cajas) is a national park in the highlands of Ecuador. It is located about 30 km west from Cuenca, the capital of the province of Azuay. The area of 285.44 km2 (28,544 ha) between 3100m and 4450m above sea level is characterized by páramo vegetation on a jagged landscape of hills and valleys. It was declared a National Park on November 5, 1996 by resolution N° 057. Name The name "Cajas" is derived from the Quichua word "cassa" meaning "gateway to the snowy mountains"."Parque National Cajas", map and brochure from Etapa, Cuenca, 2009 or "caxa" (Quichua:cold). It has also been linked to the Spanish word "cajas" (boxes). Geography and climate The highest point is the 4,450 m high Cerro Arquitectos (Architects Hill), and the elevation of roads reaches higher than 4,310 meters (13,550 feet). About 270 lakes and lagoons are present in the páramo of Cajas. Luspa is the largest of these lake and exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Ekuatur Nunka''), is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about west of the mainland. The country's capital and largest city is Quito. The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of Indigenous groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spain during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as its own sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomebamba (river)
Tumebamba, Tomebamba (hispanicized spellings) or Tumipampa (Kichwa for "''Knife Field''", Tumi: ''Knife'', Pampa: ''Field'') was a former main regional city in the Inca Empire. Tumebamba was chosen by the Emperor Huayna Capac (ruled 1493–1525) to be the Inca northern capital. The city was largely destroyed during the civil war between Huáscar and Atahualpa shortly before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in 1532. The Spanish city of Cuenca, Ecuador was built on the site of Tumebamba although a portion of the Inca city is preserved at the archaeological sites of Pumapunku and Todos Santos. History The Tumebamba area prior to the conquest by the Incas was called Guapondelig. The ethnic Cañari people had lived in this area for at least 500 years before the arrival of the Incas. The Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui (ruled 1471–1493) incorporated this area into the empire after long and arduous campaigns against the Cañari. His son and successor, Huayna Capac, was prob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloud Forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally described in the ''International Cloud Atlas'' (2017) as silvagenitus. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained. Cloud forests are among the most biodiversity rich ecosystems in the world with a large amount of species directly or indirectly depending on them. Other moss forests include black spruce/feathermoss climax forest, with a moderately dense canopy and a forest floor of feathermosses including ''Hylocomium splendens'', ''Pleurozium schreberi'' and ''Ptil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Union For Conservation Of Nature And Natural Resources
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through building partnerships. The organization is best known to the wider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onagraceae
The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and treesOnagraceae. Flora of China. in 17 genera. The family is widespread, occurring on every continent from boreal to regions. The family includes a number of popular plants, including evening primroses ('''') and [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuchsia Campii
''Fuchsia campii'' is a shrub in the family Onagraceae endemism, endemic to the south Andes of Ecuador (Azuay province, Azuay and Loja provinces), where its habitat is threatened. Its natural habitat is on rainy, humid mountain slopes (alt: 2,300 - 3,500 metres) in forests areas lying amid grasslands, sometimes seen growing alongside streams and roads. The species was described botanically in 1995 by Paul Edward Berry. A population of ''F. campii'' is protected by its location within Parque Nacional Podocarpus and another is likely protected in Parque Nacional Cajas. References Flora of Ecuador Fuchsia, campii Vulnerable plants Plants described in 1995 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Myrtales-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polylepis
''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are usually gnarled in shape, but in certain areas some trees are 15–20 m tall and have 2 m-thick trunks. The foliage is evergreen, with dense small leaves, and often having large amounts of dead twigs hanging down from the underside of the canopy. The name ''Polylepis'' is, in fact, derived from the Greek words poly (many) plus letis (layers), referring to the shredding, multi-layered bark that is common to all species of the genus. The bark is thick and rough and densely layered for protection against low temperatures. Some species of ''Polylepis'' form woodlands growing well above normal tree line within grass and scrub associations at elevations over 5000 m; which makes ''Polylepis'' appear to be the highest naturally occurring arbor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calamagrostis Intermedia
''Calamagrostis intermedia'' is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to South America, growing in high elevation grasslands and forest clearings. Its range extends from Colombia to Argentina. Description ''Calamagrostis intermedia'' is a perennial grass growing from a short, rounded rhizome. It grows in tussocks and can reach a height of . There are no stipules; the leaves are upright, linear, with entire edges and incurved margins, giving a wiry, cylindrical effect. The inflorescence is a lax, terminal panicle up to tall, only just longer than the leaves. The flowers are bisexual with purple spikelets, densely pubescent and narrowly fusiform. Distribution This species is native to South America where it occurs in the foothills and high elevation grasslands of the Andes and other mountain ranges. It is the dominant plant in the grassy páramo in the El Cajas National Park in Ecuador. It also occurs in forest clearings and where the ground has been disturbed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continental Divide Of The Americas
The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; ) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain into the Atlantic and (in northern North America) Arctic oceans (including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and Hudson Bay). Although there are many other hydrological divides in the Americas, the Continental Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains and Andes, at a generally much higher elevation than the other hydrological divisions. Geography Beginning at the westernmost point of the Americas’ mainland (Cape Prince of Wales, just south of the Arctic Circle), the Conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cañar (river)
Cañar may refer to: * Cañar Province, Ecuador * Cáñar Cáñar is a small village in the Alpujarras comarca of the province of Granada in Spain. It is located a few kilometres north of the road from Órgiva to Pampaneira and the high Alpujarras. The GR 7 long-distance footpath, following the anc ..., Spain * Canar (service provider), Sudan {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balao (river)
Balao is a town located in southern Guayas, Ecuador, near Azuay and El Oro provinces. It is the seat of Balao Canton, created in 1987. As of the census of 2001, there are 17,262 people residing within canton limits. The city is communicated with Guayaquil and Machala. It has an airstrip. The city and the canton take their name from a tree. An alternate theory for the name Balao comes from a tribe called Palau, who allegedly inhabited the area in pre-hispanic times. The most important rivers are: the Balao River, the Jagua River, and the Gala River. The main crops are: banana, cacao, rice, maize, cassava, tomato, coffee, and tropical fruits. History Balao historically was a population settlement surrounded by farms, the native inhabitants or migrants from surrounding areas, lived from agriculture and fishing. Balao appears as a town since the 1700s, according to very old residents, and its first inhabitants lived from agriculture and fishing. Until the year 1831, when Mr. Cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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