Cerros de Amotape National Park () is a protected area located in the regions of

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

and Tumbes in northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

History

The national park was officially established on July 22, 1975.

Geography

Cerros de Amotape National Park is located in the provinces of Tumbes and Contralmirante Villar in the region of Tumbes and the province of

Sullana SullanaRegional Tourism Office of Piuraciudad de Sullana. Consulted on July 8, 2009. is the capital of the Sullana Province, in the north-western coastal plains of Peru on the Chira valley. Location Sullana is located at 04°53' south latitude a ...

in the region of

. It has an area of which includes the mountain range called ''Cordillera de los Amotapes'' and the

Tumbes River The Tumbes River ( es, Río Tumbes or Río Túmbez in Peru; Río Puyango in Ecuador), is a river in South America. The river's sources are located between Ecuadorian El Oro and Loja provinces. It is the border between El Oro and Loja, and afterw ...

, the only navigable river on the Peruvian coast. The park has an elevational range between 120 m and 1538 m.

Climate

In the area, the rainy season spans from December to April, being the southern and western areas of the park the ones that receive less rain. Mean annual temperatures are in the range of 23° to 26 °C, with a mean annual precipitation of 500 mm in the tropical dry forest zone and 1450 mm in the Pacific tropical forest zone.

Ecology

The park protects a portion of the

Tumbes–Piura dry forests The Tumbes–Piura dry forests (NT0232) is an arid tropical ecoregion along the Pacific coasts of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion contains many endemic species of flora and birds adapted to the short wet season followed by a long ...

ecoregion and the southern reaches of the Pacific Tropical Forest.

Flora

Among the trees found in this area are: ''

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

trischistandra'', ''

Prosopis pallida ''Prosopis pallida'' is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe () (in Hawaii), huarango (in its native South America) and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" (a generic term for ''Prosopis''), "algarrobo pálido" (in some pa ...

'', ''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

multiflora'', ''

Cedrela ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina ...

'' sp., ''

Ziziphus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

thyrsiflora'', ''

Handroanthus ''Handroanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. It consists of 30 species of trees, known in Latin America by ...

billbergii'', ''

Handroanthus chrysanthus ''Handroanthus chrysanthus'' (araguaney or yellow ipê), formerly classified as ''Tabebuia chrysantha'', also known as ''araguaney'' in Venezuela, as ''guayacán'' in Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, as ''tajibo'' in Bolivia, and as ''ipê-amarelo ...

'', ''

Loxopterygium ''Loxopterygium'' is a genus of plants in the family Anacardiaceae The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of th ...

huasango'', ''

Bursera graveolens ''Bursera graveolens'', known in Spanish as ("Holy Stick”), is a wild tree native from the Yucatán Peninsula to Peru and Venezuela. ''Bursera'' ''graveolens'' is found in the seasonally dry tropical forests of Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecu ...

'', etc.

Fauna

Some of the mammals found in this area are: the

red brocket The red brocket (''Mazama americana'') is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas. It also occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (it also occurred on the island of ...

, the

Guayaquil squirrel The Guayaquil squirrel (''Sciurus stramineus'') is a tree squirrel endemic to Ecuador and Peru. It is a robust squirrel with a head-and-body length of and a similar length tail. The colour is variable; in Peru, a pale morph is more common, while ...

, the

neotropical otter The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which o ...

, the

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, the

mantled howler The mantled howler (''Alouatta palliata'') is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America. It takes its "mantled" ...

, the

white-fronted capuchin White-fronted capuchin can refer to any of a number of species of gracile capuchin monkey which used to be considered as the single species ''Cebus albifrons''. White-fronted capuchins are found in seven different countries in South America: Bol ...

, the

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

and the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

. A total of 111 bird species have been registered in the park, some of them are: the

grey-backed hawk The grey-backed hawk (''Pseudastur occidentalis'') is an Endangered species (IUCN status), Endangered species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found in Ecuador and far northern Peru.Rems ...

, the

grey-cheeked parakeet The grey-cheeked parakeet (''Brotogeris pyrrhoptera''), less commonly known as fire-winged parakeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. Taxonomy The grey-cheeked parakeet was described and named by John Latham in 1801. Descript ...

, the

blackish-headed spinetail The blackish-headed spinetail (''Synallaxis tithys'') is a species of bird in the family Furnariidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, a ...

and the

slaty becard The slaty becard (''Pachyramphus spodiurus'') is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae, The park is home to the endangered

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...

Activities

Hiking can be done in the park, especially in the buffer zone; there's the possibility to rent mules for longer routes inside the park. Canoeing can be done in the Tumbes river. Nature watching and research are other important activities in the park. The park's checkpoints can be used as places to stay overnight. At the zone of El Caucho, in the tropical forest zone, there are research facilities that can be visited.

Environmental issues

The main threats to biodiversity inside the park are: livestock grazing, wood extraction (for construction and charcoal), extraction of honey from wild honeybees, hunting, overfishing in the Tumbes river, pollution of rivers, garbage left by tourists and introduction of exotic plant species.

References

External links

Cerros de Amotape National Park. Official site (in Spanish).

Cerros de Amotape National Park. Parkswatch.org
{{authority control National parks of Peru Protected areas established in 1975 Biosphere reserves of Peru Geography of Piura Region Geography of Tumbes Region Tourist attractions in Piura Region Tourist attractions in Tumbes Region