The Serranía del Pinche are part of the Western Ranges of the

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 ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The mountains consist of several high peaks with small patches of isolated

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

and provide a corridor between the Pacific and Andean biogeographic regions. It is located municipality of Argelia in the

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Cauca. This area is under consideration for protection as a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary by the Colombian government. This area is important for its incredible biodiversity and high percentage of primary forest. An endemic hummingbird - the

gorgeted puffleg The gorgeted puffleg (''Eriocnemis isabellae'') is a Critically Endangered species of hummingbird in the "brilliants", tribe Heliantheini in subfamily Lesbiinae. It is endemic to Colombia. It was discovered in 2005 and confirmed as a species ...

(''Eriocnemis isabellae'') - is only found here and the population is considered to be critically endangered.

Geography

The range is located in southwestern Colombia on the western flank of the West Andes in south central Cauca Department, on the border with Nariño Department. It includes the villages of ''El Naranjal'', ''Las Pilas'', ''La Belleza'', ''Lusitania'' and ''Santa Clara'' within the municipality of Argelia. The altitudinal range varies between and . The western border consists of the upper basins of the Timbiquí and Guapi Rivers. To the north are the Plateado and Napi Rivers and to the south and east is the upper basin of the

San Juan de Micay River The San Juan de Micay River is a river of Colombia. It drains into the Pacific Ocean. The river basin is in the Chocó–Darién moist forests The Chocó–Darién moist forests (NT0115) is an ecoregion in the west of Colombia and east of Panam ...

, one of the most economically important rivers of this region. This part of the Western Ranges is located south and west of

Munchique The Munchique National Natural Park ( es, Parque Nacional Natural Munchique) is a national park located in the Cauca Department in the Cordillera Occidental range in the Andean Region of Colombia. There are 30 streams and rivers, and 40 waterfa ...

, a national natural park of equal importance with regards to its high biodiversity.

References

External links

Photo of Cerro Napi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serrania del Pinche Protected areas of Colombia Geography of Cauca Department Mountain ranges of Colombia