La Muralla National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids La Muralla National Park |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 La Muralla National Park
Location in Honduras
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| Location | La Unión, Olancho, Honduras |
| Area | 210.35 km2 (81.22 sq mi) |
| Established | 1 January 1993 |
La Muralla National Park is a special protected area in Honduras. It was created on January 1, 1993. This park covers about 13,708 hectares (about 33,874 acres). It also has a surrounding "buffer zone" of 13,195 hectares. This makes the total protected area nearly 27,000 hectares.
The park is located in the Olancho region of Honduras. It spreads across three different towns. Most of the park (about 80%) is in La Unión. The rest is split between Jano and Esquipulas del Norte.
Contents
History of La Muralla National Park
La Muralla became a national park in January 1993. Like many parks in Honduras, it has faced challenges. It has sometimes struggled to get enough support to protect the area.
Soon after the park was created, a local group formed. This group was called the Organization for the Protection of National Park La Muralla (OPMA). They worked to help the park. However, they later stopped working due to a lack of money.
In 2002, a new group was started. It is called the Association of Community Services Union (ASECUN). This group now helps La Muralla National Park. They also support other projects that protect the environment.
Who Helps Protect the Park?
Several groups work together to protect and care for La Muralla National Park. These groups include:
- The Institute of Forestry Conservation (ICF) from the government of Honduras.
- The PANAM Foundation.
- The Project for Forests and Rural Productivity (PBPR).
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC).
Amazing Plants and Animals in La Muralla
The first studies of the plants and animals in La Muralla happened in 1992. These studies were done by the Forestry Conservation Project of Honduras (CONSEFORH). They found 101 different types of plants. These included plants from families like melastome, Lauraceae, Pasiflorácea, and Solanaceae.
In 2001, another project called Paseo Pantera did a bigger study. They found a total of 859 plant species! This included the 101 types found before. These plants belonged to 410 different groups and 127 plant families.
The most exciting part of this study was finding 65 new species. These plants had never been recorded before. They also found three new groups of plants that only grow in Honduras. These special plants are called Bartlettina williamsii, Saurauia molinae, and Tetrorchirium molinae.
Orchids of La Muralla
La Muralla National Park is home to many beautiful orchids. There are currently 123 different types of orchids found here. In 2010, a scientist named Dr. Dora Elisa Perez did a study. She discovered 53 new kinds of orchids in the park!
