Los Haitises National Park
Haitises is one of the most important national parks in the Dominican Republic. It lies in the northeast of the country, in the southwest corner of the Bay of Samana, at the mouth of the river Yuna. The area covers 826 km ².
History
The area was already in pre-Columbian times, inhabited by the Taínos, the indigenous people of the island, or at least at times, countless times. This is indicated particularly petroglyphs on the walls of the numerous caves in the area. The name " Haitises " derives from " Aiti " or " Haiti" from, the name of the Taínos for hill or hilly / mountainous country. The surveys in the Haitises are not high ( less than 100 m), however, so that the name is quite steep course.
After the conquest, the area was long uninhabited; the Haitises agriculture were operated while mainly cultivated beets, which were used to starch manufacture and exported in parts only in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For this purpose, a railway and in the Bahía de San Lorfeno a port facility was built, the remains of which can still be found.
In 1968, about 200 km as so-called " reserva forestal " (forest reserve) were placed under protection ². The protected area has been transformed into the following time in a national park, and extended several times, most recently in 1996.
Geology, flora and fauna
Haitises are a typical karst area, consisting of the Tertiary limestones overlying volcanic rocks. In contrast to the limestone volcanic rocks are less permeable to water, so that the rain water accumulated on the basis of the limes, underground rivers forms and emerge as voluminous karst springs or karst lakes days. Due to the strong surface erosion, the terrain is very rugged. Particularly impressive are the so-called " mogotes ", steep hills, reminiscent of the hump huge turtles and sometimes almost 100 m rise in altitude.
As in any karst area is also available in the Haitises many caves. Of these, the Cueva Fun Fun applies to about 3 km in length than the largest cave in the Dominican Republic. It is not open to tourists.
Due to the low humus on the karst surface and the fact that the water in the limestone up rapidly, the vegetation on the hills - in spite of the heavy rainfall in the area - only semi- humid. It outweigh shrubby plants and low species of palm trees. Is found only in the valleys in places, a real tropical vegetation with large trees, for example, mahogany ( Swietenia mahogany ) and kapok ( Ceiba pentandra ). Typical of Los Haitises are the many epiphytes; under these dominate bromeliads, especially the so-called " Cabello de hadas ", in German " Witch Hair " (Louisiana moss, Tillandsia usneoides ) and orchids. Among the latter, more than 200 different species have been described in the Haitises, it is about a good third endemic.
Also noteworthy are the mangrove forests along the coast, which are among the largest on the island. There are both the red ( Rhizophora mangle ) and white mangrove ( Laguncularia racemosa ) ago.
Larger mammals do not live in the National Park. The manatees ( sea cows ), formerly occurred in the mouth of the Yuna seem to have died out there. Since the 80s of the previous century, in any case were no longer observed. The most common mammals are probably the bats that inhabit the caves. Two rare endemic mammal Hispaniola are also still alive in the Haitises, namely the Solenodon ( Solenodon paradoxus ) and the Jutía ( Plagiodontia AEDIUM ).
Live in the coastal zone and breed among other gulls, pelicans, cormorants and frigate birds. In addition, the rather rare Haiti Buzzard ( Buteo ridgway ) occurs in the Haitises.
Mention may be made among the arthropods, the scourge spiders ( Amblypygi ), also cave dwellers who can be palm size sometimes.
Tourism
The national park is accessible only by guided tours. It can be reached from various places ( Sánchez, Samaná, Sabana de la Mar) by ship. Most tours go from Sabana de la Mar by the Bahía de San Lorenzo for some islands or peninsulas, which also caves to visit (eg, the Cueva de las Linias with petroglyphs, as well as the Cueva de la Arena with their bat colony). The tours are conducted on boats; Aspirations in the national park use electric or solar boats have so far failed. There are also tours with off-road vehicles or guided walking tours in the interior. Large parts of the park, however, may still not be accessed by tourists.
In Sabana de la Mar also a visitor center (Aula de la Naturaleza ) was established.
Weblink
- Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic
19.043944444444 - 69.592897222222Koordinaten: 19 ° 2 ' 38 "N, 69 ° 35' 34 " W
- National Park in the Dominican Republic
- National Park in North America