Caribbean National Forest
| El Yunque National Forest | |
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IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
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| Location | Puerto Rico |
| Nearest city | Río Grande |
| Coordinates | 18°19′N 65°47′W / 18.317°N 65.783°WCoordinates: 18°19′N 65°47′W / 18.317°N 65.783°W |
| Area | 28,434 acres (115.07 km2) |
| Established | January 17, 1903 |
| Visitors | 600,000 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
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El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System.
This forest is commonly known as El Yunque, which may be attributed to either a Spanish approximation of the aboriginal Taíno word yu-ke which means "white lands", or the word "anvil," which is yunque in Spanish. The second-tallest mountain within El Yunque is also named El Yunque.
El Yunque National Rainforest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo mountains, encompassing 28,000 acres (43.753 mi2 or 113.32 km2) of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico.
The forest region was initially set aside in 1876 by King Alfonso XII of Spain and represents one of the oldest reserves in the Western Hemisphere. It was established as the Luquillo Forest Reserve on 17 January 1903 by the General Land Office with 65,950 acres (266.9 km2), and became a National Forest in 1906. It was renamed Caribbean National Forest on 4 June 1935. It is home to over 200 species of trees and plants, 23 of which are found nowhere else. The critically endangered Puerto Rican amazon (Amazona vittata), with an estimated wild population of 30 individuals, occurred exclusively in this forest until 19 November 2006, when another wild population was released by the Department of Natural Resources in the municipality of Utuado's Río Abajo State Forest.
An executive order signed by President George W. Bush on 2 April 2007 changed the name of the Caribbean National Forest to El Yunque National Forest, better reflecting the cultural and historical feelings of the Puerto Rican people.
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