Bosques Nublados de Udima Wildlife Refuge | |
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Refugio de Vida Silvestre Bosques Nublados de Udima | |
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Peru Cajamarca |
Coordinates | 6°50′41″S79°2′11″W / 6.84472°S 79.03639°W |
Area | 12,183.2 hectares (47.04 sq mi) |
Established | 21 July 2011 |
Governing body | SERNANP |
Website | Bosques Nublados de Udima |
Bosques Nublados de Udima Wildlife Refuge (Cloud Forests of Udima Wildlife Refuge) is a protected area of 12,183 hectares (30,100 acres) located in the regions of Cajamarca and Lambayeque, Peru. The Refuge protects the flora and fauna of Andean cloud forests at elevations mostly between 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The cloud forests are the headwaters for rivers providing water for downstream irrigation of farmland. The Refuge also preserves pre-Columbian archaeological ruins. [1]
The Cloud Forest Refuge is located mostly in the headwaters of the Zaña River with a small non-contiguous section along the Chancay River and another small non-contiguous section protecting the archaeological site of Poro Poro. [1] The main section consists of the steep slopes of an escarpment dropping sharply more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in elevation from a dissected plateau to the Zaña River. The semi-tropical forests in this section, found at elevations above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), are the distinguishing feature of the Refuge. The forests are found between the desert coasts of western Peru and the rainforests of the Amazon Basin to the east. The Andes are relatively low in elevation near the Refuge and plant and animal species characteristic of the Amazon rain forest are atypically found here on the western slopes of the Andes. The Peruvian government recognized the uniqueness of the forests in 2010 by creating the "Reserved Zone of Udima" consisting of 30,503 hectares (75,370 acres) of land. [2] The Refuge of more than 12,000 hectares was carved out of the lands of the Reserved Zone in 2011.
The Zaña River flowing westwards out of the Refuge to the Pacific Ocean supplies irrigation water to an important agricultural valley, especially for sugar cane, centered on the town of Zaña (also spelled Saña). [3] The Zaña River valley, overlooked by the Refuge, contains many pre-Columbian archaeological sites, including the oldest known irrigation canals in the Americas. The canals are dated to 3400 BCE and possibly are as old as 4700 BCE. [4]
Most of the Refuge is located in the Catache District of Santa Cruz Province in Cajamarca Region. The village of Udima, formerly known as Hacienda Udima, elevation 2,365 metres (7,759 ft), is the nearest populated place, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the border of the Refuge. Udima had a population of 696 in 2017. [5] The highest elevation in the Refuge is 3,367 metres (11,047 ft).[ citation needed ]
Cajamarca is a department and region in Peru. The capital is the city of Cajamarca. It is located in the north part of the country and shares a border with Ecuador. The city has an elevation of 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) above sea level in the Andes Mountain Range, the longest mountain range in the world. Part of its territory includes the Amazon Rainforest, the largest in the world.
Cumbemayo or Cumbe Mayo is an archaeological site located 20 kilometers southwest of the city of Cajamarca in Peru at 3,500 meters of elevation. Built around 1500 B.C.E, it comprises aqueducts, a grotto and petroglyphs; all within an area of rock formations.
The Chachapoyas, also called the "Warriors of the Clouds", was a culture of the Andes living in the cloud forests of the southern part of the Department of Amazonas of present-day Peru. The Inca Empire conquered their civilization shortly before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. At the time of the arrival of the conquistadors, the Chachapoyas were one of the many nations ruled by the Incas, although their incorporation had been difficult due to their constant resistance to Inca troops.
Huascarán National Park is a Peruvian national park that comprises most of the mountain range known as Cordillera Blanca which is part of the central Andes, in the region of Ancash. The park covers an area of 340,000 hectares and is managed by the Peruvian Network of Protected Natural Areas, or SERNANP. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1985 by UNESCO, is also a well-known mountaineering spot, and harbors a unique biodiversity with plant species such as the Queen of the Andes, trees of the genera Polylepis and Buddleja, and animals such as spectacled bears, condors, vicunas, and tarucas.
Santa Cruz Province is a province in the Cajamarca Region of Peru, with its capital at Santa Cruz de Succhabamba. The province has an area of 1,417.93 km2 and the government population estimate for 2002 is 49,302, with the 1993 census showing a population of 44,571. Agriculture is the predominant economic activity.
Cutervo National Park , established in 1961, is the oldest protected area in Peru. It is located in the northern Peruvian Andes, in the region of Cajamarca. The park was extended to 8,214 hectares (31.71 sq mi) and protects areas of Andean montane forests and paramo for headwater conservation. Moreover, those areas are the habitat of animal species like the spectacled bear, the mountain tapir, and the oilbird; and plant species like the Andean wax palms.
An andén, Spanish for "platform", is a stair-step like terrace dug into the slope of a hillside for agricultural purposes. The term is most often used to refer to the terraces built by pre-Columbian cultures in the Andes mountains of South America. Andenes had several functions, the most important of which was to increase the amount of cultivatable land available to farmers by leveling a planting area for crops. The best known andenes are in Peru, especially in the Sacred Valley near the Inca capital of Cuzco and in the Colca Canyon. Many andenes have survived for more than 500 years and are still in use by farmers throughout the region.
"Cochranella" euhystrix is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It has an uncertain placement within subfamily Centroleninae. It is endemic to Peru and only known from the vicinity of its type locality near Cerro Blanco, in the Zaña River watershed, Department of Cajamarca. The specific name euhystrix refers to the unusually spiny appearance of this frog, especially males. Common name ridge Cochran frog has been proposed for this frog.
The San Miguel Province is one of the thirteen provinces in the Cajamarca Region of Peru. It was created by Law No. 15152 on September 29, 1964 by president Fernando Belaunde Terry. It has a mountainous territory which varies in height from 500 to more than 4,000 metres (1,600–13,000 ft) above sea level. As a result, there is a great diversity of climates ranging from hot and dry at lower altitudes to cold and rainy at higher levels. Herding is an important economic activity thanks to the existence of extensive pastures. Its main product is cow's milk which is either sold outside the province or transformed into dairy products such as cheese. There are several gold mines in production in the higher regions of the province. There's also an important handicraft industry mainly devoted to textiles made out of cotton or wool.
Nanchoc District is one of thirteen districts of San Miguel Province in the Cajamarca Region of Peru. In 2017, the district had an area of 359 square kilometres (139 sq mi) and a population of 1,368. The capital of the district is the town of Nanchoc which had a population of 332 in 2017. The Nanchoc River, a tributary of the Zaña River, bisects the district.
Puquios are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation. Puquios are found in the coastal deserts of southern Peru, especially in the Nazca region, and northern Chile. Forty-three puquios in the Nazca region were still in use in the early 21st century and relied upon to bring fresh water for irrigation and domestic use into desert settlements. The origin and dating of the Nazca puquios is disputed, although some archaeologists have estimated that their construction began about 500 CE by indigenous people of the Nazca culture.
Tipón, is a sprawling early fifteenth-century Inca archaeological site that is situated between 3,250 metres (10,660 ft) and 3,960 metres (12,990 ft) above sea level, located 22 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Cusco near the village of Tipón. It consists of several ruins enclosed by a powerful defensive wall about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long. The most renown part of the park is the group of precise and right angled monumental terraces irrigated by a network of water canals fed by a monumental fountain channeling water from a natural spring. The site includes ancient residential areas and a remarkable amount of petroglyphs in its upper part.
The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and northwest Argentina. Archaeologists believe that Andean civilizations first developed on the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific Ocean. The Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, dating back to 3500 BCE. Andean civilization is one of the six "pristine" civilizations of the world, created independently and without influence by other civilizations.
Osmore River system flows northeast to southwest in the Moquegua Region of southern coastal Peru. The river has its origin in the snow peaks of the Chuqi Ananta and Arundane mountains, at an elevation of 5,100 metres (16,700 ft) above sea level. It changes names as it descends from the Andes: From its origin it is called the Moquegua, then Osmore in the middle valley as Rio Coscori and Rio Tumilaca including where the river disappears into subterranean channels, and further down in the lower reaches as Rio Ilo.
The Venezuelan Andes montane forests (NT0175) is an ecoregion in the northern arm of the Andes in Venezuela. It contains montane and cloud forests, reaching up to the high-level Cordillera de Merida páramo high moor ecoregion. The forests are home to many endemic species of flora and fauna. Their lower levels are threatened by migrant farmers, who clear patches of forest to grow crops, then move on.
The Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests (NT0121) is an ecoregion in the eastern range of the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion covers the eastern slopes of the Andes, and includes montane forest that rises from the Amazonian rain forest, with cloud forest and elfin forest at higher elevations. It is rich in species, including many endemics. It is threatened by logging and conversion for pasturage and subsistence agriculture.
The Upper Agno River Basin Resource Reserve is a protected area located on the southeast flank of the Cordillera Central in the Philippine province of Benguet along its border with Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya. It is a resource reserve located high in the Central and Polis ranges protecting the headwaters of the Agno River. According to section 4 of the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, a resource reserve is an extensive and relatively isolated area designated as such to preserve the natural resources of the area. The reserve comprises 77,561 hectares of the catchment area that feeds the Ambuklao and Binga dams, two of the country's oldest hydroelectric plants that supply power to the city of Baguio and entire Benguet province. Upper Agno is north of and contiguous with the Lower Agno Watershed Forest Reserve that preserves the immediate downstream of the Binga Dam where the Agno River is impounded by a third dam, the San Roque Dam, the largest in the Philippines and the main source of water, electric energy and irrigation for surrounding regions in Luzon.
The Zaña River is a small river in northern Peru. The river is 119 kilometres (74 mi) in length and begins in the Andes of Cajamarca Region and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Lambayeque Region. In the lower part of the river valley, where the river flows through the coastal desert of Peru, the cultivation of irrigated crops is extensive and the Zaña is usually dry near its mouth. Upriver, at higher elevations in the Andes, precipitation is much greater and downstream floods are common. One such flood wiped out the important city of Zaña in 1720. Zaña has been rebuilt, but has never regained its former prominence as an urban center. Other towns in the lower valley are Mocupe, Cayalti, Nueva Arica, and Oyotun.
Udima, Peru is in Catache District of Santa Cruz Province in the Department of Cajamarca. In 2017, Udima had a population of 696. Located in the Andes mountains, Udima has an elevation of about 2,365 m (7,759 ft) according to Google Earth.