Braulio Carrillo National Park
| Braulio Carrillo National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Patria Canyon, Braulio Carrillo National Park
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| Location | Heredia Province and San José Province, Costa Rica |
| Nearest city | San José |
| Coordinates | 10°09′35.64″N 83°58′27.93″W / 10.1599000°N 83.9744250°WCoordinates: 10°09′35.64″N 83°58′27.93″W / 10.1599000°N 83.9744250°W |
| Area | 475.8 km2 (183.7 sq mi) |
| Established | 1978 |
| Governing body | National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) |
Braulio Carrillo National Park is a National Park in Heredia Province and San José Province, in central Costa Rica It is part of the Central Volcanic Conservation Area.
The park is located on the volcanic Cordillera Central (Central mountain range) between San José city and Puerto Limón on the Caribbean.
It is accessible from the Limon Highway, which bisects the park (northwest to southeast), and from Barva canton on the north.
The park is separated into three main sectors — Zurquí, Quebrada Gonzales, and Barva.
Established in 1978, the park was formed as an agreement with environmental lobbyists to limit and prevent development of the area after the construction of the Limon Highway, a major road linking the capital to Caribbean cargo port of Puerto Limón. The park was named in honor of former Costa Rican president Braulio Carrillo, whose administration had helped foster the nation's early agricultural economy and had built the first road linking San José to the Caribbean coast.
The park contains many notable geological features, such as the Barva Volcano; and several dormant volcanoes including Cerro Chompipe, Cerro Cacho Negro, and Cerros las Tres Marias. The Barva sector has three crater lakes — Barva, Danta, and Copey.
The park also protects areas of the Sarapiquí River watershed, including large amounts of primary cloud and rainforest, and the flora and fauna that makes it their home. Others in the park include the Hondura River, Patria River, and the mineral-colored Súcio River.
Both the large size (108,970 acres) of Braulio Carrillo National Park, and its varied altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) between highest and lowest points, make it home to several distinct ecoregion zones. Ranging from high-altitude cloud forests to lowlands tropical rainforest, it has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in Costa Rica. More than 90% of the park is covered in primary forest. providing a unique snapshot of ancient ecological conditions.
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Wikipedia