Parque Nacional Podocarpus

Ecuador

Podocarpus National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Podocarpus) is a national park located in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and Loja, in the south-east of Ecuador. It was created in 1982. It covers 1,462.8 square kilometres (564.8 sq mi), from two spurs of the eastern range of the Andes to the ba

sins of the Nangaritza, Numbala, and Loyola rivers. About 85 per cent of the park is in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, and the remainder is in the province of Loja. It is categorized as a megadiverse zone and an area with a high level of endemic species because it is a meeting point between four ecological systems: Northern Andes, Southern Andes, Amazonian, and Pacific. Although considerable knowledge has been gathered about its biodiversity in parts of the area, only a minority of the species inhabiting the park has been discovered so far. The Podocarpus National Park spans from lower montane rain forests at about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation, up to high elevation elfin forests at 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Paramo or subparamo vegetation is found at elevations above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) where a complex of more than 100 lagoons exists, among the best-known being the Lagunas del Compadre...

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