Paracas National Reserve is a protected area located in the region of Ica,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and protects desert and marine ecosystems for their conservation and sustainable use. There are also archaeological remains of the

Paracas culture The Paracas culture was an Andean society existing between approximately 800 BCE and 100 BCE, with an extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management and that made significant contributions in the textile arts. It was located in what tod ...

inside the reserve.

Geography

The reserve is located in the region of Ica, 250 km south of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, and a few kilometers from the town of

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

. It spans an area of 335,000 hectares, 65% of which correspond to marine ecosystems. The highest elevation in the reserve is 786 m. The reserve includes coastal geographic features such as: the

Paracas Peninsula The Paracas Peninsula is a desert peninsula within the boundaries of the Paracas National Reserve, a marine reserve that extends south along the coast of Peru. The only marine reserve in the country, it is a designated UNESCO The United Nat ...

, Independencia Bay, San Gallán Island, Paracas Bay and Independencia Island.

Climate

Paracas National Reserve is an

arid zone A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most a ...

, with intense local winds known as ''paracas''. Precipitation is scarce and occurs in winter, falling mostly on the top of the highest hills, which is vital to the

lomas Lomas (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a nort ...

ecosystem. The following climograph corresponds to the nearby town of Pisco (19 m of elevation).

Ecology

Flora

Some terrestrial plant species found in the reserve are: '' Tiquilia paronychoides,

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 ...

Distichlis spicata ''Distichlis spicata'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents a ...

Tillandsia ''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to ...

spp., Eriosyce omasensis, Geoffroea decorticans,

Sesuvium portulacastrum ''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is a sprawling perennial herb that grows in coastal areas throughout much of the world. It is commonly known as shoreline purslane or (ambiguously) "sea purslane," in English, ''dampalit'' in Tagalog and 海马齿sl in ...

, Cressa truxillensis, Geranium limae,

Suaeda __NOTOC__ ''Suaeda'' is a genus of plants also known as seepweeds and sea-blites. Most species are confined to saline or alkaline soil habitats, such as coastal salt-flats and tidal wetlands. Many species have thick, succulent leaves, a character ...

foliosa,

Oxalis ''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...

carnosa,'' etc. Marine algae found in the reserve include: '' Ulva lactuca, Chondracanthus chamissoi, Macrocystis pyrifera,

Pyropia columbina ''Pyropia columbina'', Southern laver, ''karengo'' in the Māori language and ''luche'' in the Spanish language, is a species of edible seaweed traditionally harvested by South Island Māori in New Zealand and Chilote people in Chile. It is clos ...

,'' etc.

Fauna

Mammals found in the reserve include: the sei whale, the

South American fur seal The South American fur seal (''Arctocephalus australis'') breeds on the coasts of Peru, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. The total population is around 250,000. However, population counts are sparse and outdated. Altho ...

, the

dusky dolphin The dusky dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus obscurus'') is a dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Its specific epithet is Latin for "dark" or "dim". It is very closely genetically related to the Pacific white-sided dolphin, b ...

, the

marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

, the sperm whale, the

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

, the

South American sea lion The South American sea lion (''Otaria flavescens'', formerly ''Otaria byronia''), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the western and southeastern coasts of South America. It is the only member ...

, the

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

, the

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captiv ...

, the southern right whale, etc. Birds found in the reserve include: the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

, the

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...

, the

spotted sandpiper The spotted sandpiper (''Actitis macularius'') is a small shorebird. Together with its sister species the common sandpiper (''A. hypoleucos''), it makes up the genus ''Actitis''. They replace each other geographically; stray birds may settle do ...

, the oasis hummingbird, the Peruvian pelican, the

Inca tern The Inca tern (''Larosterna inca'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is the only member of the genus ''Larosterna''. This uniquely plumaged bird breeds on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and is restricted to the Humboldt Current. In 2021 a si ...

, the black skimmer, the

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...

, the

guanay cormorant The Guanay cormorant or Guanay shag (''Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum'') is a member of the cormorant family found on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. (The Argentinian population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast appears to be extirpat ...

, the Peruvian thick-knee, the Andean swift, the Peruvian diving petrel, etc.

Molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

found in the area include: '' Argopecten purpuratus,

Concholepas concholepas ''Concholepas concholepas'', the Chilean abalone, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk. Despite the superficial resemblance, ''C. concholepas'' is not a true abalone (a species in the family Haliotidae), but a memb ...

, Thais chocolata, Fissurella maxima,

Glaucus atlanticus ''Glaucus atlanticus'' (common names include the blue sea dragon, sea swallow, blue angel, blue glaucus, dragon slug, blue dragon, blue sea slug and blue ocean slug) is a species of small, blue sea slug, a pelagic (open-ocean) aeolid nudibran ...

Choromytilus chorus ''Choromytilus chorus'', common name Chorus mussel or Choro mussel, is a species of mussel, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order ...

Aulacomya atra ''Aulacomya atra'', called also the Magellan mussel or the ribbed mussel, is a southern species of edible saltwater mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae, the true mussels.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2011)''Aulacomya atra'' (Mo ...

,'' etc. Fish found in the reserve include: the Peruvian hake, the

flathead grey 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 ...

, the skipjack tuna, the blue flyingfish, the humpback smooth-hound, the

copper shark The copper shark (''Carcharhinus brachyurus''), bronze whaler, or narrowtooth shark, is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus found mostly at temperate latitudes. It is distributed in a number of sepa ...

, the

Peruvian anchoveta The Peruvian anchoveta (''Engraulis ringens'') is a species of fish of the anchovy family, Engraulidae, from the Southeast Pacific Ocean. It has yielded greater catches than any other single wild fish species in the world, with annual harvests ...

, the

eastern Pacific bonito ''Sarda chiliensis'', the eastern Pacific bonito, is a marine species of bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the family Scombridae – a family it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tri ...

, the Peruvian eagle ray, the

fine flounder ''Paralichthys adspersus'', the fine flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounder native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the continental shelf from the coast of Ecuador in the north to the coast of Peru in the south. It is a medium-sized ...

, the blue shark, the

corvina Corvina is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Cruina. The total global wine-growing area in 2010 was , all of which is grown in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, except for planted in Ar ...

, the

bigeye tuna The bigeye tuna (''Thunnus obesus'') is a species of true tuna of the genus '' Thunnus'', belonging to the wider mackerel family Scombridae. In Hawaiian, it is one of two species known as ahi, the other being the yellowfin tuna. Bigeye tuna are ...

, etc.

Archaeology

There are more than 100 archaeological sites identified inside the reserve, many of them of the

, known especially for their textile crafts.

Recreation

Beach tourism and

wildlife observation Wildlife observation is the practice of noting the occurrence or abundance of animal species at a specific location and time, either for research purposes or recreation. Common examples of this type of activity are bird watching and whale watchin ...

are the main activities in the reserve. Playa Roja - Paracas National Reserve, Ica

References

External links

Paracas National Reserve. Official site (in Spanish)
{{Authority control Protected areas established in 1975 World Heritage Sites in Peru Ramsar sites in Peru Geography of Ica Region Tourist attractions in Ica Region Rock formations of Peru

Geography

Climate

Ecology

Flora

Fauna

Archaeology

Recreation

See also

References

External links