Rio Abajo State Forest is a forest preserve in

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 ...

owned by the

Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies with a variety of titles and responsibilities are included, e.g. Department of Environment, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of E ...

and one of the 20 state forests in the island. It was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in 1980 and constitutes an area of 3,590 acres. It consists mostly of subtropical wet and moist karst forest.

Mogotes Mogotes () is a town and municipality in the Santander Department, in northeastern Colombia. References {{Santander-geo-stub Municipalities of Santander Department ...

and

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

fill the landscape. The forest preserve is located in the municipalities of

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, th ...

and Utuado. In addition to its ecological value the forest also contains a number of archaeological sites.

History

Much of the development within the forest area was made by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) during the 20th century. The forest preserve was one of the five designated forests designated in 1943 by the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (Spanish: ''Administración de Reconstrucción de Puerto Rico'') to preserve the remaining forested areas in the island. This forest also protects a large portion of the Arecibo River hydrological basin. The remains of the lumber roads cut by the loggers and CCC workers have now become trails. Due to its value as an ideal representation of the karstic ecosystems in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, the state forest was designated a

by the

United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

in 1980.

Geography

Río Abajo State Forest is located on rugged

karstic Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

terrain in north-central Puerto Rico, between the municipalities of Arecibo ( Hato Viejo and Río Arriba) and Utuado ( Caguana and

Río Abajo Río Abajo is a corregimiento within Panama City, in Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama with a population of 26,607 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 33,155; its population as of 2000 was 28,714. It is a West Indian neighborhoo ...

Geology

The forest preserve is part of the Montebello karst, part of the Cibao formation in the Northern karst zone of Puerto Rico and its most prominent landforms are

mogotes Mogotes () is a town and municipality in the Santander Department, in northeastern Colombia. References {{Santander-geo-stub Municipalities of Santander Department ...

, distinctive steep eroded hills composed of

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 ...

. Caves, canyons, mesas, sinkholes and ravines are also very common in this type of geology and can be encountered within the forest limits. This is the only place in Puerto Rico where the great Eocene-Oligocene unconformity can be clearly seen.

Ecology and conservation

The forest is home to wildlife that include endangered species such as the

Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk The Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus brunnescens'') is an endangered subspecies of the broad-winged hawk (''B. platypterus''). It is a small hawk that occurs in Puerto Rico, inhabiting the Toro Negro State Forest.Puerto Rican boa (''Chilabothrus inornatus''), and a captive population of critically endangered

Puerto Rican parrot The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...

s (''Amazona vittata''). Captive parrots are slowly being released into Rio Abajo in an attempt to form a second population.

Flora

The forest is home to more than 175 species of trees, out of which about 47 species are considered endangered or threatened. Some of the most common plant species are the ceiba or kapok (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

''), algarrobo (''

Samanea saman ''Samanea saman'', also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazi ...

''), jobo (''

Spondias mombin ''Spondias mombin'', also known as yellow mombin or hog plum is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in Sou ...

''), maga (''

Thespesia grandiflora ''Thespesia grandiflora'' is a tree in the family Malvaceae of the rosids clade. Its common name is maga. This tree is widely distributed throughout Puerto Rico where it is endemic.Sapium laurocerasus''), cohoba (''

Cojoba arborea ''Cojoba arborea'' (common names include algarrobo, ardillo, lorito, barba de jolote, iguano, quebracho, sang sang, tamarindo, tambrán, tuburús, and bahamas sibicú) is a leguminous tree of the family Fabaceae found in the Caribbean, Mexico, a ...

''), and white fiddlewood (''

Vitex divaricata ''Vitex divaricata'' is a tree shrub of the Caribbean native to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.Daphnopsis hellerana'', which only grows on limestone, erubia ('' Solanum drymophilum''), palo de rosa ('' Ottoschulzia rhodoxylon''), and the critically endangered nigua (''

Cornutia obovata ''Cornutia obovata'' is a rare species of tree in the mint family, and formerly considered a member of the verbena family.Bramley, G., et alNeotropical Lamiaceae.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. It is endemic to forested slopes in Puerto Rico, w ...

'').

Fauna

More than 34 species of birds have been documented in the forest. It is also a key protected habitat to the endangered Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk ('' Buteo platypterus brunnescens'') and a number of 60 individuals is estimated to live in the area. Puerto Rican parrot ( ''Amazona vittata'') populations have been re-introduced into the forest since 1983 as part of a conservation program by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

. The forest is also home to the José Luis Vivaldi Lugo Aviary, dedicated to the breeding of the endangered Puerto Rican parrot for the purpose of developing a healthy population in the area; 43 individuals have been released into the wild as of 2007.

Recreation

The reserve has a reputation for being a great camping spot (reservations required) and it offers visitors as many as 70 different walking trails that will better enable visitors to observe as much of the plant and bird life in the area as possible. Some of the trails are the

Frank H. Wadsworth Frank Howard Wadsworth (November 26, 1915 – January 5, 2022) was an American forester, conservationist and researcher. He made important scientific contributions to forestry, through his work in Puerto Rico where he lived from 1942. Life an ...

trail, Visitors Center trail, the Cueva del Agua trail, and the Tanamá River trail. Given the karstic topography of the area, the state forest also has a number of caves such as Cueva del Agua and Cueva Alta. The state forest is also close to other landmarks and attractions such as

Cueva Ventana Cueva Ventana ( eng, italic=yes, Window Cave) is a large cave situated atop a limestone cliff in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, overlooking the Río Grande de Arecibo valley. It is visible from the PR-123 but is accessible from a trail that begins adjac ...

and Dos Bocas Lake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Abajo State Forest Puerto Rico state forests Puerto Rican moist forests Arecibo, Puerto Rico Utuado, Puerto Rico National Natural Landmarks in Puerto Rico