Sierra Nevada National Park (Venezuela)
| Sierra Nevada National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Victoria Lagoon
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 Location in Venezuela
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| Location | Venezuela |
| Nearest city | Mérida |
| Coordinates | 8°34′N 70°42′W / 8.567°N 70.700°WCoordinates: 8°34′N 70°42′W / 8.567°N 70.700°W |
| Area | 276,446 ha |
| Established | 2 May 1952 |
| Governing body | Instituto Nacional de Parques(INPARQUES) National Park Institute |
The Sierra Nevada National Park (PNSN) is an important National Park of Venezuela located between Mérida and Barinas states in the west of the country. It was created on May 2, 1952, by decree of President Germán Suárez Flamerich, in order to protect the Sierra Nevada de Mérida in the Andes.
It was the second national park decreed, after Henri Pittier National Park, which became the first Venezuelan national park 15 years earlier.
The Sierra Nevada is an area of great ecological importance for Venezuela, for preservation of the ecosystem of the tallest in the country, where mountain ranges are located at higher altitudes of the Venezuelan Andes, including the Pico Bolívar, the highest geographical in Venezuela with 4,978 m.
The initiative to create the Sierra Nevada Park was born in the Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal since 1948. The proposal takes strength and the University of the Andes, appoints a commission to the preliminary study, later, was presented to national authorities to justify the creation of the park.
On May 2, 1952, the Governing Board chaired by Germán Suárez Flamerich, signed a decree which stated the Sierra Nevada as National Park.
The Sierra Nevada Park is the second oldest National Park in Venezuela, after Henri Pittier National Park.
Initially the park covered an area of 190,000 ha. However, the August 14, 1985 by decree of the National Executive, President Jaime Lusinchi are added other 86,446 ha., leaving a total area of 276,446 ha.
The park encompasses parts of six municipalities of the states of Mérida and three of the Barinas state. Its total area is 276,446 hectares, of which 185,886 hectares belong to the state of Mérida, which means 67.2% of the total area, while the remaining 90,560 ha represent the state of Barinas, 32.8% of the area of the park.
The Sierra Nevada covers one of the two branches of the Cordillera de Mérida in the central Andes of Venezuela, which is the same name Sierra Nevada, the area of it is rugged highlighting the location of the main peaks in the country as these are Pico Bolívar (4,978 m), Pico Humboldt (4,942 m), Pico La Concha (4922), Pico Bonpland (4883), Pico Espejo (4880), Pico León (4740), Pico El Toro (4729) and Pico Mucuñuque (4609).
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Wikipedia