Cumbres del Ajusco National Park
| Cumbres del Ajusco National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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| Location | Tlalpan / Magdalena Contreras, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Coordinates | 19°12′54″N 99°15′23″W / 19.21512°N 99.25639°WCoordinates: 19°12′54″N 99°15′23″W / 19.21512°N 99.25639°W |
| Area | 920 hectares (2,300 acres) |
| Established | May 23, 1936 |
| Governing body | Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources |
Cumbres del Ajusco National Park is one of many national parks near Mexico City, DF. The Ajusco is known for its high elevations reaching 3,900 meters (12,795 ft) above sea level and is visible from any part of Mexico city. The park is characterized by pine-oak forests and high mountain grassland. Cumbres del Ajusco means "watered grove peaks", an appropriate name for this mountainous region covered with lush green forest with many flowers due to a fair amount of precipitation. The Balsas and Lerma rivers begin in the heart of the Cumbres del Ajusco.
This range accounts for approximately half of the area of the Mexican Federal District, the rest of which is occupied by Mexico City. The area is key to the conservation of the ecosystem, and is important to endemic species. Urbanization of Mexico city has posed several environmental concerns over the preservation of the habitats and ecosystems of the park.
The Cumbres del Ajusco has attracted humans since approximately 1200 BC; Otomíes are thought to have been the first to inhabit the Ajusco area. During the pre-Columbian Era, an area now known as Tlalpan was inhabited by natives known as Tepanecas along the San Buenaventura River.
During the 17th century, the Viceroyalty of New Spain made it a state policy to find all rural indigenous populations living in the mountainous areas of the Cumbres del Ajusco., and resettle them in a smaller area so that they could be converted to Christianity. Today there still remains many old Spanish missions and churches along the edge of the Cumbres del Ajusco.
Cumbres del Ajusco National Park was created by decree on September 23, 1936 by the Mexican federal government. The park was later expanded to its current state of 920 hectares (3.6 sq mi) on May 19, 1947.
Cumbres del Ajusco National Park is one of many national parks near Mexico City, DF. The park is known for its high elevations reaching 3,900 meters (12,795 ft) above sea level which are part of the Sierra de Ajusco-Chichinauhtzin mountain range. All of the mountain systems in the area are part of the Cordillera Neovolcanica that crosses the center part of Mexico. Cerro La Cruz del Marqués towers 1,400 meters (4,600 ft) above Mexico City and is the highest peak within the park reaching 3,930 meters above sea level.
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