Macanao Peninsula
| Macanao peninsula | ||
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| Peninsula municipality | ||
Macanao Peninsula desert habitat.
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 Isla Margarita, Macanao in the west |
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 Macanao peninsula
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| Coordinates: 11°00′06″N 64°18′57″W / 11.001692°N 64.315731°WCoordinates: 11°00′06″N 64°18′57″W / 11.001692°N 64.315731°W | ||
| Country | Venezuela | |
| State | Nueva Esparta | |
| Municipality | Municipality of Macanao Peninsula Municipio Península de Macanao |
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| Seat | Boca de Río | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 330.7 km2 (127.7 sq mi) | |
| Population (2001) | ||
| • Total | 20,935 | |
| • Density | 63/km2 (160/sq mi) | |
The Macanao Peninsula is a geographic peninsula landform, that forms the western end of the Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, in northern Venezuela.
It is also a Venezuelan municipality, the Municipality of Macanao Peninsula (Municipio Península de Macanao), in the state of Nueva Esparta. The municipal seat is Boca de Río.
The peninsula is connected to the rest of Isla Margarita by a thin strip of land in Laguna de la Restinga National Park. Sixty years ago, it was an island. The peninsula has an area of 330 square kilometres (130 sq mi), rising from sea level to 745 metres (2,444 ft) at the peak of Cerro Macanao. A ridge of high land runs along the peninsula from east to west. The main east-west crest is sharp and narrow. The mountains are smaller than in Maragarita, but are much more rugged, with many steep-sided valleys cutting through the mountain sides.
The more remote beaches can only be reached via dirt roads.
The climate of Margarita as a whole is hot and tropical, with little rainfall. The Macanao peninsula is particularly arid and dry. In the 1950s, the mountains in the central range were forested up to about 650 metres (2,130 ft). Vegetation today is mainly open cactus-chaparral, with deciduous forests in the seasonal riverbeds.
The mean average temperature is 27 °C (81 °F), and mean annual rainfall is 500 millimetres (20 in). Trade winds blow from the northeast, so rainfall is highest on the northern side.
Macanao Peninsula is relatively newly formed. In the northern part of the peninsula, littoral deposits from the early form a terrace 30 metres (98 ft) high made of a sandy marl 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) that contains the bivalves Lyropecten arnoldi. In the south, a littoral terrace 18 to 21 metres (59 to 69 ft) high dates to the mid-Pleistocene, and calcareous clays from the Late Pleistocene form a terrace 10 to 12 metres (33 to 39 ft) high. There are many raised beaches from the Holocene.
The highlands of the peninsula contain amphibolite and eclogite mafic rocks which, like tholeiitic metabasalt, are similar to the rocks found both on island arcs and on mid-ocean ridges.
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Wikipedia