Iguazú National Park

Iguazú National Park
IUCN category II (national park)

View of a section of the waterfalls
Map showing the location of Iguazú National Park

Location within Argentina

Location Misiones Province, Argentina
Coordinates 25°37′00″S 54°20′00″W / 25.61667°S 54.33333°W / -25.61667; -54.33333Coordinates: 25°37′00″S 54°20′00″W / 25.61667°S 54.33333°W / -25.61667; -54.33333
Area 550 km2 (212 sq mi)
Established 1934
Governing body Administración de Parques Nacionales
Type Natural
Criteria vii, x
Designated 1984 (8th session)
Reference no. 303
State Party Argentina
Region Latin America and the Caribbean

The Iguazú National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Iguazú) is a national park of Argentina, located in the Iguazú Department, in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentine Mesopotamia. It has an area of 550 km2 (212 sq mi).

History

The park was created in 1934 and it contains one of the greatest natural beauties of Argentina, the Iguazu Falls, surrounded by the subtropical jungle. Across the Iguazu River lies its Brazilian counterpart (Iguaçu National Park). Both sites were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, in 1984.

The area of the park was inhabited 10,000 years ago by the hunter-gatherers of the Eldoradense culture. They were displaced around 1,000 CE by the Guaraní, who brought new agricultural technologies, and were displaced in turn by the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores in the 16th century, though their legacy is still alive in this area (the name of the park and the river is Guaraní y guasu, "large water"). The first European to visit the zone was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, in 1542; Jesuit missions followed in 1609.

Flora and fauna

The park lies within the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests ecoregion.[1]

The fauna of the park includes several rare and threatened species: jaguar, jaguarundi, South American tapir, ocelot, tirica, anteater, the black-fronted piping guan, the harpy eagle, and the yacare caiman. One can also find birds like the great dusky swift and large toucans, mammals like the coatí, and a diversity of butterflies. The vinaceous amazon, named for its wine-colored plumage, is occasionally found in this park.

The Iguazú River ends in the Paraná River 23 km beyond the falls, after a 1320 km course. Inside the park it becomes up to 1,500 m wide and turns first south, then north, forming a large U-shape. Its banks are densely populated by trees, including the ceibo (Cockspur coral tree), whose flower is Argentina's national flower. The flora of the park also features lapacho negro and lapacho amarillo (family Bignoniaceae), as well as palmito trees and the 40-metre-high palo rosa (family Apocynaceae).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Olson, D. M, E. Dinerstein; et al. (2001). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth". BioScience 51 (11): 933–938. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2.

External links

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