Sipacate-Naranjo National Park is located along the Pacific coast of Escuintla in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

(). The park includes mangrove forests, lagoons and sandy beaches and covers an area of 20 km long and 1 km wide, stretching between the coastal towns of

Sipacate Sipacate is a resort town and municipality on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in Escuintla Department about west of Puerto San José. It is promoted as a venue for surfing. Being roughly in the center of the Guatemalan coastline, it is used as a ...

and El Naranjo. Mangrove species found in the park are white mangrove ('' Laguncularia racemosa''), black mangrove ('' Avicennia nitida'', '' Avicennia germinans'') and several '' Rhizophora'' species, including the red mangrove ('' Rhizophora mangle''). Transitional tree species include the Mexican palmetto ('' Sabal mexicana'') and the guiana chestnut (''

Pachira aquatica ''Pachira aquatica'' is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba n ...

''). The park's beaches are breeding areas where several endangered turtle species lay their eggs, including the olive ridley ('' Lepidochelys olivacea''), green turtle ('' Chelonia mydas''), leatherback turtle ('' Dermochelys coriacea''), and hawksbill turtle ('' Eretmochelys imbricata''). Other reptiles found in the park are '' iguanas'', and freshwater turtles. Over 90 bird species -both migratory and resident- have been reported, including a large nesting heron population ('' Ardeidae''), cormorants ('' Phalacrocoracidae''), pelicans ('' Pelecanidae''), ibises ('' Threskiornithidae''), plovers, dotterels, lapwings ('' Charadriidae'') and gull species ('' Laridae''). Bird species of special concern found in the park but which may be under threat in Guatemala, are: Pied-billed Grebe ('' Podilymbus podiceps''), brown pelican (''

Pelecanus occidentalis The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

''), Great White Egret (''

Ardea alba The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

''), Snowy Egret (''

Egretta thula The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal dialect, Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Mapuche language, Araucano ...

''), Little Blue Heron ''

Egretta caerulea The little blue heron (''Egretta caerulea'') is a small heron of the genus ''Egretta''. It is a small, darkly colored heron with a two-toned bill. Juveniles are entirely white, bearing resemblance to the snowy egret. During the breeding season, ...

'' Tricolored Heron (''

Egretta tricolor The tricolored heron (''Egretta tricolor''), formerly known as the Louisiana heron, is a small species of heron native to coastal parts of the Americas; in the Atlantic region, it ranges from the northeastern United States, south along the coast ...

''), Green Heron (''

Butorides virescens The green heron (''Butorides virescens'') is a small heron of North America, North and Central America. ''Butorides'' is from Middle English ''butor'' "bittern" and Ancient Greek ''-oides'', "resembling", and ''virescens'' is Latin for "greenish". ...

''), Yellow-crowned Night Heron (''

Nyctanassa violacea The yellow-crowned night heron (''Nyctanassa violacea''), is one of two species of night herons found in the Americas, the other one being the black-crowned night heron. It is known as the ''bihoreau violacé'' in French and the ''pedrete corona ...

''), Boat-billed Heron ('' Cochlearius cochlearius''), Roseate Spoonbill (''

Platalea ajaja The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...

''), Wood Stork (''

Mycteria americana The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

''), Black-necked Stilt ('' Himantopus mexicanus''), and Least Tern (''

Sterna antillarum The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. O ...

'').

References

Wetlands of Guatemala National parks of Guatemala Protected areas established in 1969 Central American dry forests {{NorthAm-protected-area-stub