Teide National Park

Teide National Park
IUCN category II (national park)

Map showing the location of Teide National Park

Location within Tenerife

Location Tenerife, Spain
Coordinates 28°15′47″N 16°36′58″W / 28.263°N 16.616°W / 28.263; -16.616Coordinates: 28°15′47″N 16°36′58″W / 28.263°N 16.616°W / 28.263; -16.616
Area 189.9 km2
Established 1954
Visitors 3,5 million annual visits
Type Natural
Criteria vii, viii
Designated 2007 (31st session)
Reference no. 1258
State Party Spain
Region Europe and North America
Teide National Park in 3D

Teide National Park (Spanish: Parque nacional del Teide, pronounced: [ˈpaɾke naθjoˈnal de ˈtei̯.ðe]) is a national park located in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). It is centered on Mount Teide, the highest mountain of Spain (3,718 metres high) and the islands of the Atlantic (it is the third largest volcano in the world from its base on the ocean floor). It was declared a national park on 22 January 1954, making it one of the oldest national parks in Spain. It is also the largest national park in Spain and an important part of the Canary Islands. Another volcano located in the park (next to Teide) is Pico Viejo. It is the second tallest volcano in the Canary Islands with its 3,135 m peak.

The park has an area of 18,990 hectares and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on June 28, 2007.[1] Since the end of 2007, it has also been one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. On a ridge, to the east of Teide, are the telescopes of the Observatorio del Teide. Territorially, it belongs to the municipality of La Orotava.

Teide is the most visited national park in Spain, with a total of 2.8 million visitors, according to the Instituto Canario de Estadística (ISTAC), and it is one of the most visited national parks in the world.[2][3] The Teide is the most famous natural icon not only of Tenerife but also of all the Canary Islands.

History

The Teide National Park has a large historical value. This place had an important spiritual significance to aboriginal Guanches and important archaeological sites have been discovered in the park. For the Guanches the Teide was a place of worship, they thought it was the gate of hell (Echeyde).

National park status was declared on January 22, 1954, which was one of the third in Spain. In 1981 the park was reclassified and established as a special legal regime. In 1989, the Council of Europe awarded the European Diploma of Protected Areas, in its highest category. This recognition and conservation management has been subsequently renewed in 1994, 1999 and 2004.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of its transformation into a national park, in 2002 the paperwork was begun to declare the park a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On June 28, 2007, after five years of work and effort, UNESCO decided to declare the Teide National Park, World Heritage Site in the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Teide National Park is also at the end of 2007, one of the 12 Treasures of Spain.

Teide National Park is complementary to the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, this is mainly due to being in each of them represented the volcanic structures and forms less evolved magmas of such islands (Hawaii) and more evolved and differentiated (Teide).[4] Moreover, Teide National Park shares similar scenic characteristics with the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, United States.

Flora and fauna

Echium wildpretii on Tenerife
Southern Tenerife lizard (Gallotia galloti galloti)

The lava flows on the flanks of Teide weather to a very thin, but nutrient and mineral rich soil that supports a diverse number of plant species. Vascular flora consists of 168 plant species, 33 of which are endemic to Tenerife.[5]

Forests of Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) occur from 1000–2100 m, covering the middle slopes of the volcano, and having an alpine timberline 1000 m lower than that of continental mountains of similar latitude.[6] At higher altitudes, the Las Cañadas caldera provides sufficient shelter for more fragile species such as the Canary Island cedar (Juniperus cedrus), and the Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) to grow.[7]

The most dominant plant species in the Teide National Park are the Teide white broom (Spartocytisus supranubius), which has a white and pink flower; the Canary Island wallflower (Erysimum scoparium), which has white and violet flowers; and the Teide bugloss (Echium wildpretii), whose red flowers form a pyramid up to 3m in height.[8] The Teide daisy (Argyranthemum teneriffae) can be found at altitudes close to 3,600m above sea level. The Teide violet (Viola cheiranthifolia) can be found right up to the summit of the volcano, making it the highest flowering plant in Spain.[9]

These plants are adapted to the tough environmental conditions on the volcano such as high altitude, intense sunlight, extreme temperature variations, and lack of moisture. Adaptations include acquiring semi-spherical forms, acquiring a downy or waxy cover, reducing the exposed leaf area, and having a high flower production.[7][10] Flowering takes place in the late spring or early summer, in the months of May and June.[5]

The Teide National Park contains a huge range of invertebrate fauna, over 40% of which are endemic species, with 70 species only being found in the national park. The invertebrate fauna include spiders, beetles, dipterans, hemipterans, and hymenopterae.[11]

In contrast, Teide national park has only a limited variety of vertebrate fauna.[12] Ten species of bird nest in the park. These include the blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea teydea); Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii berthelotii); the Atlantic canary (Serinus canaria); and a subspecies of kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis).[13][14]

Three endemic reptile species are also found in the park – the Canary Island lizard (Gallotia galloti galloti), the Canary Island wall gecko (Tarentola delalandii), and the Canary Island skink (Chalcides viridanus viridanus).[12][15]

The only mammals native to the park are bats, the most common species of which is Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri). Other mammals such as the mouflon, the rabbit, the house mouse, the black rat, the feral cat, and the Algerian hedgehog have all been introduced to the park.[16]

Scientific landmark

The similarity between environmental conditions and geological Teide National Park and the planet Mars have turned this spot volcanic reference point for studies related to the red planet.[17]

The analogies between the red planet and parts of Tenerife make the island the ideal place for testing instruments that will travel to Mars and reveal past or present life on Mars. In 2010 a research team tested at Las Cañadas del Teide, the Raman instrument to be sent in the next expedition to Mars, ESA-NASA ExoMars from 2016-2018.[17]

In 2011 a team of United Kingdom researchers visited the national park in June to test a method for finding life on Mars and finding places to try in 2012, new robotic vehicles.[18]

Sister parks

Besides the Teide National Park participates in different international programs and exchange advice with other national parks in the world, especially Central America, South America and Europe. In regard to international cooperation, the Teide National Park has provided technical support to the Souss-Massa National Park located in southwestern of Morocco.[20]

Movies filmed in the park and curiosities

Photos

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Teide National Park". World Heritage List. UNESCO. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  2. ↑ "El Teide (Tenerife) es el parque nacional más visitado de Canarias con 2,8 millones de visitantes en 2008". europapress.es. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Official Website of Tenerife Tourism Corporation". Webtenerife.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "El Parque Nacional del Teide, Patrimonio Mundial: Valores geológicos determinantes" (PDF). Acceda.ulpgc.es. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 Dupont, Yoko L., Dennis M., Olesen, Jens M., Structure of a plant-flower-visitor network in the high altitude sub-alpine desert of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Ecography. 26(3), 2003, pp. 301–310.
  6. ↑ Gieger, Thomas and Leuschner, Christoph, Altitudinal change in needle water relations of the Canary pine (Pinus Canariensis) and possible evidence of a drought-induced alpine timberline on Mt. Teide, Tenerife, Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants, 199(2), 2004, Pages 100-109y
  7. 1 2 J.M. Fernandez-Palacios, Climatic response of plant species on Tenerife, the Canary islands, J. Veg. Sci. 3, 1992, pp. 595–602
  8. ↑ "Tenerife National Park - Flora". Tenerife Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  9. ↑ J.M. Fernandez-Palacios and J.P de Nicolas, Altitudinal pattern of vegetation variation on Tenerife, J. Veg. Sci. 6, 1995, pp. 183–190
  10. ↑ C. Leuschner, Timberline and alpine vegetation on the tropical and warm-temperate oceanic islands of the world: elevation, structure and floristics, Vegetatio 123, 1996, pp. 193–206.
  11. ↑ "Tenerife National Park - Fauna". Tenerife Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  12. 1 2 Thorpe, R.S., McGregor, D.P., Cumming, A.M., and Jordan, W.C., DNA evolution and colonisation sequence of island lizards in relation to geological history: MTDNA RFLP, cytochrome B, cytochrome oxidase, 123 RRNA sequence, and nuclear RAPD analysis, evolution, 48(2), 1994, pp. 230-240
  13. ↑ Lack, D., and H.N. Southern. 1949. Birds of Tenerife. Ibis, 91:607-626
  14. ↑ P.R. Grant, "Ecological compatibility of bird species on islands", Amer. Nat., 100(914), 1966, pp. 451–462.
  15. ↑ Lever, Christopher (2003). Naturalized Reptiles and Amphibians of the World (First ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850771-0..
  16. ↑ Nogales, M., Rodríguez-Luengo, J.L. & Marrero, P. (2006) "Ecological effects and distribution of invasive non-native mammals on the Canary Islands" Mammal Review, 36, 49–65
  17. 1 2 "Tenerife se convierte en un laboratorio marciano". Elmundo.es. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Buscando "marcianos" en el Teide". Loquepasaentenerife.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "España: Cooperación en Parques Nacionales" (PDF). Otros.conaf.cl. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Cooperación internacional entre parques nacionales" (PDF). Magrama.gob.es. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Brian May". Answers.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  22. ↑ Montgomery, Jack (22 February 2011). "Clash of the Titans 2 & Los Cristianos Carnival in Tenerife News of the Week". Tenerife Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "La bandera de Israel ondea en el Teide (Islas Canarias)". Israelgrafico.tyepad.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  24. ↑ "Cienciólogos en Tenerife". Loquepasaentenerife.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  25. ↑ "España: Los Lugares Del Contacto". Munoparanormal.com. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "La policía frustra el suicidio colectivo de los 33 miembros de una secta en Tenerife". Hereoteca.lavaguardia.es. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  27. ↑ Fotheringham, William (23 May 2012). "Volcano gives Bradley Wiggins the fire for assault on Tour de France". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2013.

External links

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