Cueva del Indio (

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, Cana ...

for "cave of the Indian") is a seaside cave located along

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs in

Islote Islote is a barrio in the municipality of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 5,665. "Birth of a New World", a giant sculpture of Christopher Columbus on a ship, is located in Islote. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the af ...

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

along

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 ...

's Atlantic coast. The cave and its surroundings are protected 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 Puert ...

(DRNA) as the Cueva del Indio Nature Reserve. The cave gets its name after the numerous petroglyphs created by the Taínos.

Ecology

Entrada a Cueva del Indio, Arecibo, Puerto Rico

The marine areas off Cueva del Indio are also protected as part of Cueva del Indio Nature Reserve, particularly the turtlegrass (''

Thalassia testudinum ''Thalassia testudinum'', commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of marine seagrass. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle grass and other seagrasses form meadows A meado ...

'') meadows which is important for the

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

and numerous other animal species.

References

{{coord, 18.49274, -66.64155, format=dms, type:landmark_region:PR, display=title Caves of Puerto Rico Arecibo, Puerto Rico Limestone caves Petroglyphs in Puerto Rico Nature reserves Protected areas of Puerto Rico