Munchique National Natural Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Parque Nacional Natural Munchique |
|
|---|---|
| Munchique National Natural Park | |
|
IUCN Category II (National Park)
|
|
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Nearest city | El Tambo, Cauca, Colombia |
| Area | 440 km2 (170 sq mi) |
| Established | May 1977 |
| Governing body | SINAP |
The Munchique National Natural Park (which is called Parque Nacional Natural Munchique in Spanish) is a special national park in Colombia. It's found in the Cauca Department, high up in the Western Mountain Range. This park is full of nature, with 30 streams and rivers, plus 40 beautiful waterfalls! Because it has many different temperature zones, it's a perfect home for lots of birds, especially hummingbirds.
Contents
About Munchique National Park
This amazing park is located near a town called El Tambo. It sits on the western side of the Western Mountain Range. It's about 61 kilometers (38 miles) away from the city of Popayán. The park also shares its borders with other towns like Lopez, Morales, and Cajibio.
Munchique National Park was officially created in May 1977. It covers a large area of about 440 square kilometers (170 square miles). The park gets its name from the Munchique Mountain, which is located in the southeastern part of the area. Many rivers in the park flow into the San Juan de Micay River. This is one of the biggest rivers in the Colombian Pacific area. It eventually flows all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This park is very important to protect, as it faces some challenges that could harm its natural beauty.
Climate and Weather in Munchique
The park has several different climate zones, depending on how high up you are.
- Warm Zone: This is from 200 meters (656 feet) to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level.
- Temperate Zone: This is from 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) to 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) above sea level.
- Cold Zone: This is from 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) to 3,500 meters (11,480 feet) above sea level.
The average temperature is about 24°C (75°F) in the lower parts of the park. It gets much colder at the highest points, where the average temperature is around 8°C (46°F). The park gets a lot of rain. The higher areas receive about 3,000 mm (118 inches) of rain each year. In the lower areas, it can rain even more, up to 5,000 mm (197 inches) per year. The most rain usually falls in December, and the driest months are from June to August. All this rain means the air is very humid, with about 87% relative humidity.
Amazing Animals and Plants
Munchique National Park is one of the most biodiverse places in Colombia. This means it has a huge variety of living things! It's home to many species that are found nowhere else. There are also many endangered species here. This is partly because there isn't much human activity in the area. Also, the different temperature zones create many unique habitats.
In the warm and temperate parts of the park, you can find very tall trees. Some of these trees can grow over 40 meters (130 feet) high! As you go higher up the mountain, the number of large trees decreases. Instead, you'll see more epiphytes. These are plants that grow on other plants, like mosses and orchids.
The park is a birdwatcher's dream! About 500 different types of birds have been seen here. A remarkable 37 of these are hummingbird species. Some special birds you might find include the long-wattled umbrellabird and the colorful puffleg. The colorful puffleg is a type of hummingbird found only in this region.
Munchique is also home to 182 types of mammals. These include amazing animals like spectacled bears, pumas, and jaguars. You might also spot the northern pudú, which is a small deer, or a South American coati. Other interesting mammals are the scaly-footed small-eared shrew, porcupines, and three different kinds of ocelot.
Beyond birds and mammals, the park has 71 types of amphibians and 70 kinds of bats. There are also 55 different butterfly species, all belonging to the Satyrinae group. The Western Andes toad is a special amphibian known only from this park. In 2003, a brand new species of wren bird was discovered here. It was named the Munchique wood-wren after the park itself!
See also
In Spanish: Parque nacional natural Munchique para niños
