Cangandala National Park is a
national park in
Malanje Province,
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. It is situated between the
Cuije river and 2 unnamed territories of the
Cuanza, with the towns of
Culamagia and
Techongolola on the edges of the park. It is the smallest national park in Angola.
History
The park was created in 1963 while Angola was a territory under
Portuguese rule. It was declared a national park on 25 June 1970. Cangandala was founded to protect the
Giant Sable Antelope
The giant sable antelope or royal sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger variani''), also known in Portuguese as the ''palanca-negra-gigante'', is a large, rare subspecies of the sable antelope native and endemic to the region between the Cuango and ...
which were discovered in 1963.
Description
The park, which covers an area of , consists of undulating sandlime hills with lower-lying drainage lines. The area receives about rainfall per year with an average temperature of . No
perennial rivers occur and drainage takes place via grass covered waterlanes. A mosaic of open miombo bushveld and savanna occur. Brachystegia-bushveld are found on the water partitions and open grasslands in the lower-lying drainage lanes.
The
red-lipped herald is one of the commonest snakes in the park.
Forest vegetation is dominated by ''
Brachystegia
''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa.
Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambez ...
'' and ''
Julbernardia
''Julbernardia'' is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae. There are eight species found in tropical Africa. They are medium-sized trees.
Species accepted by the Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online da ...
'', together with other trees in places (''
Piliostigma'', ''
Burkea'', ''
Monotes
''Monotes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. Its name, meaning "unity" or "uniqueness" was chosen because it was the only genus of dipterocarp then known to occur in Africa. The Zambezian region is the centre of div ...
'', ''
Strychnos
''Strychnos'' is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 100 accepted species of trees and lianas, and more than 200 that are as yet unresolved. The genus is widely dis ...
'', ''
Sterculia
''Sterculia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae: subfamily Sterculioideae (previously placed in the now obsolete Sterculiaceae). Members of the genus are colloquially known as tropical chestnuts. ''Sterculia'' m ...
'' and ''
Dombeya'').
See also
References
External links
Birdlife.org profile of Cangandala National Park
Angolan miombo woodlands
National parks of Angola
Malanje Province
Protected areas established in 1963
1963 establishments in Angola
Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic
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