The geography of Puerto Rico consists of an archipelago located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic or Hispaniola, west of the Virgin Islands and north of Venezuela. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest and most eastern of the Greater Antilles. With an area of 3,515 square miles (9,104 km2), it is the third largest island in the United States and the 82nd largest island in the world. Various smaller islands and cays, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos comprise the remainder of the archipelago with only Culebra and Vieques being inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited through large parts of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources.
Pico El Yunque or El Yunque Peak is a mountain that is located fully within the boundaries of the El Yunque National Forest, part of the U.S. Forest Service, which is the only tropical rainforest under the U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction. It is located in the municipality of Río Grande. The peak itself, standing at 1,080 metres above sea level is not the highest in Puerto Rico or even the Sierra de Luquillo range where it is located. It is however the most famous peak due to its curious shape, its natural environment and history, and for its cultural importance to the Taino people. The peak is nearly always covered in thin mist and, due to its high humidity, a quick shower develops during some afternoons. The hike to the top from the Mina Falls is not challenging yet it takes almost 4 and a half hours.
El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System and the United States Forest Service. El Yunque National Rainforest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo mountains, encompassing 28,000 acres of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico.
Picacho Peak State Park is a state park surrounding Picacho Peak in Picacho, Arizona. The park is located between Casa Grande and Tucson near Interstate 10 in Pinal County. Its centerpiece spire is visible from downtown Tucson, a distance of 45 miles (72 km). The summit rises to 3,374 feet (1,028 m) above mean sea level. Though appearing to be the remnant of a volcanic neck, it is now believed to be a tilted and eroded piece of rock overlain by a lava flow.
El Escorpión Park is a three-acre park located in the Simi Hills of the western San Fernando Valley, in the West Hills district of Los Angeles, California. The park contains the geographic landmark known as Escorpión Peak or Castle Peak, a 1,475-foot-tall rocky peak seen from most parts of the park and the surrounding community.
Cordillera Central, is the main mountain range in Puerto Rico. The range crosses the island from west to east and divides it into its northern and southern coastal plains. The Cordillera Central runs eastward from the municipality of Maricao in the west to Aibonito in the central eastern region, and on to the Caribbean in the southeast through the Sierra de Cayey. The Central Mountain Range consists of the Cordillera Central proper and numerous subranges, foothills and ridges that extend throughout the island. Cerro de Punta is both the highest peak of the Cordillera Central and the highest point in Puerto Rico. The Sierra de Luquillo, where El Yunque is located, is sometimes included as a subrange or eastward extension of the Cordillera Central.
The Ávila National Park, officially known as Waraira Repano National Park for its name indigenous Cariban name, protects part of the Cordillera de la Costa Central mountain range, in the coastal region of central-northern Venezuela. The area's highest elevation is Pico Naiguatá, at 2,765 meters (9,072 ft) above sea level.
Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the 1,103,897 acres (4,467.31 km2) forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln, and Otero counties. The three Ranger Districts within the forest contain all or part of four mountain ranges, and include a variety of different environmental areas, from desert to heavily forested mountains and sub-alpine grasslands. Established to balance conservation, resource management, and recreation, the lands of the Lincoln National Forest include important local timber resources, protected wilderness areas, and popular recreation and winter sports areas. The forest headquarters is located in Alamogordo, N.M. with local offices in Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.
Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humidity but poor soil. There are two main dwarf forest ecosystem types, involving different species and environmental characteristics: coastal temperate and montane tropical regions. Temperate coastal dwarf forest is common for parts of Southern California. Montane tropical forests are found across tropical highlands of Central America, northern South America and Southeast Asia. There are also other isolated examples of dwarf forests scattered across the world, while the largest dwarf forest is found in the Philippines.
The Uinta Highline Trail is a trail in the Uinta Mountains of Utah that traverses the range 104 miles (167 km) from east to west. The trail passes through expansive alpine landscapes dominated by metasedimentary rocks sculpted by past glaciers. The broad glacial basins are dotted by hundreds of lakes.
Millcreek Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and part of Millcreek City on the east side of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. It is a popular recreation area both in the summer and in the winter. It was named by Brigham Young on August 22, 1847 before all of the mills that were built in and below the densely forested canyon. It is home to two restaurants and six Boy Scout Day Camps.
Toro Negro State Forest is one of the 21 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. It is also Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest. It is in the Cordillera Central region of the island and covers 8,204 cuerdas, of mountains. Toro Negro's mountains have heights reaching up to 4,400 feet (1,300 m) and include Cerro de Punta, Cerro Jayuya and Cerro Rosa, the three highest peaks in the island. Nested among these mountains is Lake Guineo, the island's highest lake. The forest has 18 kilometers (11 mi) of trails, an observation tower, two natural swimming pools (Spanish:"charcos"), camping and picnic areas, nine rivers, and numerous creeks and waterfalls. The forest spans areas within the municipalities of Ponce, Jayuya, Orocovis, Ciales, and Juana Díaz, and consists of seven non-contiguous tracts of land. The largest contiguous segment of the forest is located in the municipalities of Ponce and Jayuya. Some 40% of the area of Toro Negro State Forest is located in Ponce's Barrio Anón.
Yokahú Tower is an observation tower within El Yunque National Forest on the island of Puerto Rico. The Yokahú Tower is one of the two observation towers located in the park and is at an elevation of 1,575 feet. Constructed in 1963, it is widely considered the better of the two with regard to the view offered. The other tower, Mount Britton Tower, is situated at a higher altitude. Owing to this, the view from it is frequently obscured by cloud cover. When it comes to convenience, Yokahú Tower again has an advantage over the Mount Britton Tower. Yokahú Tower has a parking lot nearby whereas the Britton Tower is in the middle of the forest.
The Sierra de Luquillo is a mountain range located in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. Also known as the Luquillo Mountains, these are steep-sided, densely-forested mountains rising to elevations of around 1,075 m (3,527 ft), the highest point being the summit of El Toro, closely followed by that of Pico El Yunque.
The Atalaya Trail is an out and back trail to the summit of Atalaya Mountain, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Pico del Este is a mountain peak in the southern portion of the Sierra de Luquillo, located on the boundary between the municipalities of Ceiba and Naguabo in eastern Puerto Rico. A radar complex built by the US Navy can be found in the summit of the mountain. Known as the Old Navy Radar, these facilities remain decommissioned and abandoned.
El Toro is 3,526 feet high and is the highest peak in the Sierra de Luquillo mountains in eastern Puerto Rico.
Carite State Forest is a state forest and nature reserve located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range in southeastern Puerto Rico. The forest extends over approximately 6,500 acres and is located in the municipalities of Caguas, Cayey, Guayama, Patillas and San Lorenzo. The forest is located along the Ruta Panorámica, which offers access to the forest.
Guilarte State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the eastern half of the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central. The main geographical feature of the forest reserve is Monte Guilarte, which is Puerto Rico's 7th highest mountain at 3,950 feet above sea level. While Monte Guilarte is located in the municipality of Adjuntas, the forest's borders also include parts of Guayanilla, Peñuelas and Yauco.
Los Tres Picachos State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forest system of Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central, along the Los Tres Picachos mountain ridge, one of the island's highest mountains, named after the distinctive three peaks of the highest mountain in the forest. The state forest is located in the municipalities of Jayuya and Ciales.
