Rio Abiseo National Park
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The Rio Abiseo National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Río Abiseo) is located in the
San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
department of Peru.
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
pronounced it as Natural and Cultural Heritage of Humanity (
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
) in 1990. The park is home to many species of flora and fauna, as well as the location of over 30
pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
archaeological sites. Since 1986, the park has not been open to tourism due to the fragile nature of both the natural and archaeological environment.


Geography and climate

Located in the San Martín Region of Peru between the Marañón and Huallaga rivers, the park has an area of approximately 2,745.2 square kilometres. The park covers 70% of the Abiseo river basin. Elevations reach as high as 4,200 meters (13,780 ft) above sea level and as low as 350 m (1,150 ft). The park protects three distinct
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s: Ucayali moist forests at lower elevations,
Peruvian Yungas The Peruvian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of Peru. Setting The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian Andes. They form a transition zone between the Southwes ...
at middle elevations, and
Cordillera Central páramo The Cordillera Central páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. Due to its isolation there are high levels of endemism. De ...
at the highest elevations. There are at least seven climate zones in the park, including montane forest, tropical alpine forest, montane rainforest, high Andean grasslands (puna), and dry forest. Rainfall ranges from 20 to per annum. The montane cloud forest, composing most of the park area, is a high-altitude rainforest with short trees, moss and lichen. This ecosystem occurs above the altitude of about 2,300 meters (7,550 ft). High humidity is constant and rain falls throughout the year, particularly at the higher elevations. The soil is acidic.


Wildlife

The
yellow-tailed woolly monkey The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (''Lagothrix flavicauda'') is a New World monkey endemic to Peru. It is a rare primate species found only in the Peruvian Andes, in the departments of Amazonas and San Martin, as well as bordering areas of La L ...
, ''Oreonax flavicauda'', previously thought to be extinct, is known to live in the park and appears to be
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the region. It was mostly due to this monkey's critically endangered status that the area gained national park status and was placed on the list of World Heritage Sites in 1983. Other fauna in the park includes: *
Andean guan The Andean guan (''Penelope montagnii'') is a gamefowl species of the family (biology), family Cracidae, in which it belongs to the guan (bird), guan subfamily Penelopinae. This bird occurs in the highlands (5,000 ft/1,500 m above mean sea l ...
, ''Penelope montagnii'' *
Venezuelan red howler The Colombian red howler or Venezuelan red howler (''Alouatta seniculus'') is a South American species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, found in the western Amazon Basin in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. The populat ...
, ''Alouatta seniculus'' * White-fronted spider monkey, ''Ateles belzebuth'' (endangered) *
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 ...
, ''Panthera onca'' *
King vulture The king vulture (''Sarcoramphus papa'') is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexic ...
, ''Sarcoramphus papa'' *
Three-striped night monkey The three-striped night monkey (''Aotus trivirgatus''), also known as northern night monkey or northern owl monkey, is one of several species of owl monkeys currently recognised. It is found in Venezuela and north-central Brazil. Until 1983, all ...
, ''Aotus trivirgatus'' * Curassaw, ''Crax salvini'' * Peruvian guemal, ''Hippocamelus antisensis'' (endangered) * Mountain paca or punatuacher, ''Agouti tazcanowskii'' (endangered) *
Southern pochard The southern pochard (''Netta erythrophthalma'') is a species of duck, and a member of the genus '' Netta''. There are two subspecies, the South American (southern) pochard ''N. e. erythrophthalma'' (Wied-Neuwied, 1833) and the African (southern) ...
duck, ''
Netta ''Netta'' is a genus of diving ducks. The name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck". Unlike other diving ducks, the ''Netta'' species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fres ...
erythrophthalma'' * Spectacled bear, ''Tremarctos ornatus'' (endangered) *
Turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...
, ''Cathartes aura'' *
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 ...
, ''Cebus albifrons cuscinus'' * Hairy long-nosed armadillo ''Dasypus pilosus'' *
Yellow-crowned amazon The yellow-crowned amazon or yellow-crowned parrot (''Amazona ochrocephala'') is a species of parrot native to tropical South America, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. The taxonomy is highly complex and the yellow-headed (''A. oratrix'') and yell ...
, ''Amazona ochrocephala'' * Russet-mantled softtail, ''Phacellodomus berlepschi'' (endangered) * Yellow-browed toucanet (endangered) There are 980 known species of plants documented in the highlands of the park, 13 of which are endemic, and 5000 species of plants in the area of the Rio Abiseo.


Archaeology

The most famous archaeological site in the Rio Abiseo park is
Gran Pajatén Gran Pajatén is an archaeological site located in the Andean cloud forests of Peru, on the border of the La Libertad region and the San Martín region, between the Marañon and Huallaga rivers. The archaeological site lies in the Rio Abiseo N ...
, a ruined settlement atop a forested ridge overlooking the Montecristo River canyon. Nearby are the ruins of
Los Pinchudos Los Pinchudos is an elaborate Chachapoya tomb complex, perched in a high rock cleft in one of Peru's northern Andean cloud forests. Los Pinchudos is located in Río Abiseo National Park, a natural and cultural World Heritage Site, guarded and clo ...
a series of cliff tombs discovered by Pataz villagers in the early 1970s. Gran Pajatén, Los Pinchudos and other archaeological remains identified in the park are usually attributed to the
Chachapoyas culture The Chachapoyas, also called the "Warriors of the Clouds", was a culture of the Andes living in the cloud forests of the southern part of the Department of Amazonas of present-day Peru. The Inca Empire conquered their civilization shortly bef ...
. The most extensive archaeological work done in Rio Abiseo Park was led by the
University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
during the mid-1980s.


See also

* Iperu, tourist information and assistance *
Tourism in Peru Since the 2000s, Tourism in Peru makes up the nation's third largest industry, behind fishing and mining. Tourism is directed towards archaeological monuments, ecotourism in the Peruvian Amazon, cultural tourism in colonial cities, gastronomic ...


References


External links


UNESCO: Rio Abiseo National Park




{{authority control National parks of Peru World Heritage Sites in Peru Protected areas established in 1983 Geography of San Martín Region Tourist attractions in San Martín Region 1983 establishments in Peru