Costa Rica´s

The Park National Volcano Irazú is located on the Central Volcanic mountain Range, 31 km al northeastern of the city of Carthage.  It was created like park by means of the Article Not. 6 of the constitutional law Not. 1917 of the costa Rican Institute July 30, 1955.  The Service of National Parks administers this park from 1970.  Its extension is of 2.309 hectares.

The Irazú is an active volcano with a long history of eruptions and eruptive cycles.  Is a zone of great hydrologic importance.  In it they are born various rivers that feed the basins of the River Chirripó, river Reventazón, river Sarapiquí and Rio Grande of Tárcoles.

The origin of its name itself due to a populated native that existed in the skirts of the called volcano Iztarú, word that for them signified hill of the trembling and thunder.  Nevertheless, through the years, like product of the verbal communication, its name was modified to Irazú.

It is one of the areas of the so much, most visited system by national as international tourists.

The Irazú is an estratovolcán (volcanic layers differentiated of material) of 3.432 meters of altitude, with form subcónica irregular, caraterísticas estrombolianas (with violent eruptions) and five craters well deferenciados.  The most important by its recent activity are the Main Crater, almost to circulate and with walls very inclined.  It measures 1050 meters of diameter and 300 meters of depth.  The Crater Diego of It Should 600 meters of diameter and 100 meters of depth.  Other craters are the Beautiful Beach, the Gap and the Piroclástico.

The vegetation in the highest part is caraterística of the rain wasteland subalpino, zone of life that develops to heights over the 3.300 meters and even the 4.000 m.s.n.m., typical of the Andean regions.  It fits to indicate that is the only place in the Central Volcanic mountain Range, that presents this life zone type, with species as the myrtle and the arracachillo.

They exist besides, almost pure forests of oak tree encino, tree of abundant, hard bark in the Atlantic sector of the volcano.  Patches of primary vegetation are found, understood in the rain forest life zone montano in the margins of the rivers, northeastern sector of the main crater, with species as black oak tree, jaúl, sage, matagente, lorito, escalonia, candelillo, tongue of cow and sombrilla of poor.

Among the bird life they emphasize species as the reed volcanero, the carpenter careto, the yigüirro, the goldfinch, the lechucita brown, the trepador reddish, the zacatera, the pitorreal and several species of hummingbirds.  Some mammals that can be observed are the wild rabbit, the coyote, the armadillo, the puercoespín, the weasel, the caucel and the red squirrel.

The Reserve is located in the Pacific, in the margins of the Rio Grande of Tárcoles, al southeastern of the city of Orotina, province of Puntarenas.  Its creation hit upon the Executive Decree Not. 8491-Á of April 27, 1978.  Counts on an extension of 4.700 hectares.

Carara is located in the zone transnationals between the humid and dry forests of the Peaceful region of Costa Rica and can be told that no other wild area of the country protects the resources of plants and present animals in said region climatically.

The Reserve was created to facilitate investigations and scientific studies, as well as to favor the environmental education.  This wild area is respected an excellent living laboratory, where the structure can be studied and the operation of the tropical ecosystems and the relations among them.

Carara possesses various ecosystems as marshes, a gap and forests of gallery, secondary and primary.  The marshes are formed for the seasonal floods of the Rio Grande of Tárcoles, in an area located al northeastern of the reserve.  These zones are rich in species of wading birds, amphibious and associated reptiles to those environments.  The gap occupies an extensive meander abandoned of the Rio Grande of Tárcoles, measures some 600 meters long, 40 meters of wide and two meters of depth.  Practically is covered with choreja or lily of water and of other aquatic plants.

In this environment they are abundant diverse species of reptiles as the crocodiles that measure to three meters of long and of water birds like the pink herons, the ducks needle, the gallitos of water, the zambullidores piquipintos and the martin rock.  The crocodiles are also abundant and easy to observe in the Rio Grande of Tárcoles.

The forests of gallery are found in the margins of the rivers, they are dense, high and of little diversity in species.  The espavel is the characteristic species in this habitat.  The secondary forests are located on lands that previously they were dedicated to activities agribusiness, they have a smaller floral diversity that the primary forests and present more species caducifolias.  The palm viscoyol, very thorny, is found forming almost pure rosebushes in this type of forest.  The primary forests occupy most of the reserve.  They situated on lands from 20 to 60 percent of slope, they present high diversity, various strata and abundance of liana and flat epífitas.  Some of the trees that call more the attention by their size are the espavel, the kapok tree, the guanacaste, the vulture, the guácimo red, the higuerón, the guayabón and the javillo.  Other species of trees are the milky one, the of nazareth that produces a precious wood of purple color; the christopher, the garlic, the oilcloth, the pochote, the blackberry, the golden fruit and the ron ron.

The fauna is abundant in spite of the isolation of the reserve.  The most outstanding one is: the saíno, the dull horse, hammers it, the blonde one, the coatimundi, the raccoon, the manigordo, the cute one carablanca, the lazy one of two fingers, the tolomuco, the deer and the fox four eyes.  A very conspicuous bird by its beautiful plumage and because pràcticamente has disappeared of the Pacific Dry, is the red limpet.  Other species of birds are: the trogón violáceo, the peacock, al hummingbird, the tucancillo the guaco and the chocuaco.  Some of the species animal before cited they are found in danger of extinction or with populations reduced.

The Reserve Biological Carara counts on numerous traces of pre-Colombian native occupations.  The archaeological studies carried out have permitted the location up to now of fifteen archaeological places that correspond to two epochs of occupation: the Phase Turkeys (300 years to.C.  - 300 years d.C.) and the Phase Carthage (800 years - 1500 years d.C.), with agriculture as base of subsistence.  Of the second epoch of occupation various places excel, like Carara that corresponds to a rectangular basement (6×4 m), built in stone of river and calcareous rocks, and Hills Burial, an extensive village with housing zones and funeral homes in the top of some hills located front al I laugh Tárcoles.  Hills Burial was a main settlement during the pre-Colombian epoch and exercised an economic and political control in the low zone of the river Tárcoles.

The forest fires, the furtive shooting and the limitation in cuatno to financial resources and humans to face the growing tourist demand by the attractions that protects the reserve, are the main problems that faces the reserve.

The Park National Arenal is found in the North Region of the country, al north of the Saw of Tilarán. Belongs to the cantons of Tilarán, San Carlos and San Ramón.

It was created by Executive Decree Not. 20791-MIRENEM, of the 30 of setiembre of 1991.

Its extension is of 2.920 hectares.

It is considered as a zone of aquatic refill, whose water drain al Reservoir Arenal for the utilization in the production of hydroelectric energy and in the farm projects of the District of Irrigation of Moracia.

It protects important species of flora and characteristic fauna of the rain forest pre-mountain and of the cloudy forest of great tourist and scientific value.

The Park National Arenal presents three zones of life: very humid forest pre-mountain, rain forest pre-mountain and rain forest mountain low.

In these zones of life the most common species of flora are the guava tree of mount, the lurel, the cocobolo, the medlar the raft and other.

The main species of fauna are: tepezcuinte, tapir, coatimundi, lazy, jaguar, deer; birds as parrots, parakeets, quetzals. Snakes as the parrot, the velvet and the boa.