Laguna de la Restinga is a national park on the

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ), is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, and the largely uninhabited Cubagua. The state has the smallest area, and is located off the nort ...

state, Venezuela. The main part of the park is a large salt lagoon, rich in fish and birdlife. It is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, and is classified as an Important Bird Area.

Location

The park lies between the eastern part of Margarita island and the

Macanao Peninsula The Macanao Peninsula is a geographic peninsula landform, that forms the western end of the Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, in northern Venezuela. It is also a Venezuelan municipality, the Municipality of Macanao Peninsula (''Municipio Pen ...

, which are connected only by a thin bar, or strip of land. The bar stretches more than from La Guardia on the main island to Punta Tigre on the peninsula. The park was created by government decree on 6 February 1974, and initially covered an area of . It features a saline lagoon fringed by mangroves and holding large mangrove islands, with of channels. The shallow lagoon is separated from the sea to the north by a bar of sand and sea shells. To the south a broad channel connects the lagoon with the sea. The west coast is rocky, with cliffs and small beaches. The climate is arid or semi-arid, with mean annual temperature of and mean annual precipitation of .

Flora

The park is in Venezuelan Dry Forest biogeographical province. Inside the lagoon there are mangrove forests covering containing red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are disperse ...

''), black mangrove (''

Avicennia nitida ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

'') and of white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda an ...

''). The sandbar has buttonwood mangrove (''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Range Locations it is known from inc ...

'') and various types of grass. The land surrounding the saltwater is covered by

xerophyte A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or the ...

s. The semi-desert tropical climate supports thornwood and shrub forest.

Fauna

The lagoon, at most deep, is home to

red snapper Red snapper is a common name of several fish species. It may refer to: * Several species from the genus ''Lutjanus'': ** ''Lutjanus campechanus'', Northern red snapper, commonly referred to as red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlanti ...

s, gruntfish,

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

s, swordfish and

black mullet The flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically . It is known with numerous English names, ...

s. Oysters cling to the mangrove roots. Birds that feed in the lagoon include

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but it ...

, red-legged tinamous,

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...

s, blue herons, green herons,

great egret 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 ...

s, ground doves, cormorants and

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

s. Three endemic land species are present: the deer ''Odocoileus carriacou margaritae'', the rabbit ''Sylvilagus floridanus margaritae'' and the snake ''Leptotyphlops albifrons margaritae''.

Tourism

Tourists can reach the embarkation pier in the lagoon by bus from

Porlamar ) Pueblo de La Mar ( en, Village by the Sea) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Panoramic , image_flag = Bandera santiagomarino.jpg , image_seal = , pushpin_map =Venezuela , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivis ...

. Five seat motorboats from there take visitors for a trip through the interconnecting channels through the mangroves, some with romantic names like ''Mi Dulce Amor'' (My Sweet Love) or ''Túnel de los Enamorados'' (Lovers Tunnel). The boats take visitors to an open-air shack serving fresh fried fish on a shell beach.

Gallery

Laguna de la Restinga.jpg, View from the air ParqueNacionalLagunadeLaRestinga.jpg, The lagoon looking west towards Peninsula de Macanao Laguna la Restinga.jpg, Lagoon Canal Plaza del Amor.jpg, Channel in the mangroves Canaldelbesorestinga.jpg, Channel in the mangroves Laguna de La Restinga (24).jpg, Channel in the mangroves La Restinga 06.jpg, A boat in the lagoon Laguna de La Restinga (2).jpg, Rental boats

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * {{authority control National parks of Venezuela Margarita Island Geography of Nueva Esparta Important Bird Areas of Venezuela Marine reserves Ramsar sites in Venezuela Protected areas established in 1974 1974 establishments in Venezuela Tourist attractions in Nueva Esparta