The El Tamá National Park ( es, Parque nacional El Tamá) It is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

with the status of a national park that is located between the Andes and plains of Venezuela. It protects part of the

Tamá Massif The Tamá Massif ( es, Macizo del Tamá) is a group of mountains on the border between Colombia and Venezuela to the south of Lake Maracaibo. It contains evergreen rainforest and cloud forest at the lower levels, and páramos (high moors) at the ...

. It has an area of and is located in the states of

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

(125,100 ha, 90% of the surface of the park) and

Apure Apure State ( es, Estado Apure, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations pronounced by the colonial author ...

(13,900 ha, 10% of the park's surface), near the border with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. Created as a National Park on December 12, 1978, by the then President

Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as '' El Gocho'' (due to his Andean origins), was a Venezuelan politician and the president of Venezuela from 12 March 1974 to 12 M ...

. The park is located in the páramos of Tamá with an altitude of 3,320 msnm, Cerro El Cobre with 3,613 msnm and "Judío" with 3,372 msnm, occupying the upper parts of the basins of the rivers Carapo, Río Chiquito, Quinimarí, Quite , Burguita, Burgua, Nula, Nulita, Sarare, Cutufí and Oirá, and the basins of the rivers Frio and Negro, in jurisdiction of the Municipalities Junín, Córdoba and Libertador of the Táchira and Paez of Apure State. Its creation was justified because it constitutes an exceptional natural sanctuary of flora, fauna and scenic beauties and that the area of the upper part of the Carapo, Río Chiquito, Quinimari, Quite, Burguita, Burgua, Nula, Nulita, Sarare, Cutufí and Oirá, as well as the entire area of the Frío and Negro river basins, which represent a valuable system of water protection zones, whose preservation is of public utility for the collective well-being of the Táchira State and the region of The Andes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:El Tamá, National Park National parks of Venezuela Protected areas established in 1978 1978 establishments in Venezuela Geography of Táchira Tourist attractions in Táchira

See also

References