Carite State Forest (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ''Bosque Estatal de Carite'') is a
state forest
A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory.
Background
The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example:
* In Australia, a ...
and nature reserve located in the
Sierra de Cayey
Sierra de Cayey is a mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is located in the southeast section of the island. Its elevations do not exceed 1000 m (3,280 ft.).
The Grande de Loíza, which is one of the most important rivers in Puer ...
mountain range in southeastern
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. The forest extends over approximately 6,500 acres and is located in the municipalities of
Caguas
Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founde ...
,
Cayey
Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...
,
Guayama,
Patillas and
San Lorenzo. The forest is located along the ''
Ruta Panorámica
The ''Ruta Panorámica'' (Scenic Route), officially the ''Ruta Panorámica Luis Muñoz Marín'' (Luis Muñoz Marín Scenic Route), is a network of some 40 secondary roads which traverse the island of Puerto Rico from west to east along its '' Co ...
'' (officially the ''
Luis Muñoz Marín
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
In 1948 he ...
Scenic Route
A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...
''), which offers access to the forest.
History
Carite State Forest is one of 20 forestry units in the territory of Puerto Rico. This forest area was established by a proclamation in 1935 and was formerly listed as a state forest on July 1, 1975, through the Law of Puerto Rican Forests (Law Num. 133). The area was preserved with the intention of developing it for its
timber industry
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
. The state forest was established with the goal of protecting the hydrological basins of the
Loíza,
Patillas and
La Plata rivers which were being affected by erosion caused by deforestation throughout the 20th century. In more recent times the forest has become an important wildlife preserve, ecological research site and recreational area.
Geography
This forest is located within the
Sierra de Cayey
Sierra de Cayey is a mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is located in the southeast section of the island. Its elevations do not exceed 1000 m (3,280 ft.).
The Grande de Loíza, which is one of the most important rivers in Puer ...
mountain range. This range belongs to the larger
Cordillera Central which extends through Puerto Rico from west to east. The highest point of the Sierra at 2,962 feet (903 m) in elevation,
Cerro La Santa (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for ''peak of the saint'' or ''peak of the holy woman''), is located within the forest in the municipalities of Caguas, Cayey and San Lorenzo. This is the highest point in those three municipalities.
Geology
The mountains in the Carite Forest are of volcanic origin. The underlying rocks in the area located between the surface of the forest and depths of 3 km were created as a result of volcanic activity that took place during the
Early Cretaceous period between 79 and 144 million years ago. About 13 types of soil can be found within the forest region.
Climate
The climate of the forest is humid and cool; the most humid time of the year is between the months of May and October, analogous to the wet season of the island and the region's hurricane season. The average annual temperature is of 72°F (22°C) and the average annual precipitation measurement is 85 inches of rain.
Ecology and conservation
Fauna
The forest is an important wildlife refuge and is home to 49 species of birds (9 of which are endemic), 15 species of amphibians, 12 species of reptiles and 7 species of mammals. About 9 species of animals that live in the forest are listed as endangered or threatened species, some of which are the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (''
Buteo platypterus brunnescens''), the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (''
Accipiter striatus venator
The Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, ''(Accipiter striatus venator)'', ''falcón de sierra'' or ''gavilán pecho rufo'' in Spanish, is an endemic subspecies of the North American sharp-shinned hawk, occurring only in Puerto Rico. Discovered in 19 ...
''), the elfin woods warbler (''
Setophaga angelae''), Eneida's coquí (''
Eleutherodactylus eneidae
''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and co ...
''), the web-footed coqui (''
Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti
''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and co ...
''), the Puerto Rican rock frog or ''coquí guajón'' (''
Eleutherodactylus cooki
''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and co ...
''), and the Puerto Rican boa (''
Chilabothrus inornatus'').
The area is renowned for its population of Puerto Rican plain pigeons or ''paloma sabanera'' (''
Patagioenas inornata wetmorei'') which were formerly on the brink of extinction but were saved thanks to conservation efforts and is now considered stable. The golden coquí (''
Eleutherodactylus jasperi
''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and c ...
'') used to be found in this forest but no specimens have been found in recent years and the species are now considered extinct.
Flora
Carite is home to more than 204 species of trees out of which 176 species are native. There are 43 endemic species of plants such as the Puerto Rican magnolia (''
Magnolia portoricensis'') and the Puerto Rican raintree (''
Brunfelsia portoricensis''). The forest is also home to the Luquillo Mountain stopper or ''uvillo'' (''
Eugenia haematocarpa''), an endangered
myrtle which can only be found in
El Yunque National Forest
El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...
and Carite State Forest.
The forest's vegetation can be classified into three ecological zones: the
subtropical moist forest of
Sierra palm trees which comprises 9% of the forest, the very humid subtropical moist forest which comprises more than 98% of the forest area and is home to the elfin or
dwarf forest
Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humi ...
, and the low montane humid forest which only comprises about 0.5% of the forest area and is home to the ''palo colorado'' (''
Cyrilla racemiflora
''Cyrilla racemiflora'', the sole species in the genus ''Cyrilla'', is a flowering plant in the family Cyrillaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, from the southeastern United States (coastal areas from southeastern ...
'').
Recreation
Recreation in the forest is managed by the
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in Pue ...
(DRNA). There are opportunities of camping, picnics and swimming. There used to be up to 25 hiking trails in the forest area; however, many of the trails have not been properly maintained, and some have never been reopened after being completely destroyed by hurricanes such as
Georges and
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
. The only currently maintained trail is the Charco Azul Trail which leads to the Charco Azul swimming area.
Camping and picnic areas
The DRNA offices are open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The recreation areas are open from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most of the areas designated for camping and picnics are located uphill from
Guavate in
Cayey
Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...
(in the past, the forest has also been referred to as the ''Guavate Fores''t) close to the famous ''
lechoneras''. The picnic area close to the Guavate lechoneras have not been opened after being destroyed by Hurricane Maria and the only maintained picnic area is located in the Charco Azul section of the forest. As of 2020, camping areas have not yet reopened after the destruction caused by the hurricane.
Charco Azul
''Charco Azul'' (Spanish for ''blue pool)'', located in the municipality of
Patillas, is one of the main highlights of the state forest. This is a clear, blue-colored natural pool formed by the Charco Azul river falls, which flow into the
Patillas River. The area, located along
PR-184, offers sites for picnics, camping and showers and restrooms for people who wish to swim in it.
Gallery
File:Carretera PR-184, Patillas, Puerto Rico.jpg, View of the forest from highway PR-184.
File:2022cerrolasanta2.jpg, Cerro La Santa from PR-184.
File:2022bosquecarite6.jpg, Vegetation in the forest.
File:2022bosquecarite5.jpg, Hiking trail near Charco Azul.
File:2022bosquecarite4.jpg, Tabonuco forest.
File:2022bosquecarite3.jpg, Creek near Charco Azul
File:2022bosquecarite2.jpg, Sierra palm forest near Cerro La Santa.
File:2022bosquecarite1.jpg, Tree ferns
The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tre ...
common in the forest.
See also
*
Guavate, Cayey
*
El Yunque National Forest
El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...
*
Guilarte State Forest
*
Toro Negro State Forest
Toro Negro State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro'') is one of the 21 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. It is also Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest. It is in the Cordillera Central region of the is ...
References
External sites
Bosques de Puerto Rico - El Bosque Estatal de Carite
{{Protected areas of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico state forests
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Cayey, Puerto Rico
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Patillas, Puerto Rico
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico
Protected areas of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican moist forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of the United States