Península de Macanao Municipality Municipio Península de Macanao | |
---|---|
Location in Nueva Esparta | |
Coordinates: 11°00′06″N64°18′57″W / 11.001692°N 64.315731°W Coordinates: 11°00′06″N64°18′57″W / 11.001692°N 64.315731°W | |
Country | Venezuela |
State | Nueva Esparta |
Municipal seat | Boca del Río |
Area | |
• Total | 330.7 km2 (127.7 sq mi) |
Population (2001) | |
• Total | 20,935 |
• Density | 63/km2 (160/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC−4 (VET) |
Website | Official website |
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. [1] 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. [2] A ridge of high land runs along the peninsula from east to west. [3] The main east-west crest is sharp and narrow. [4] 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. [5]
The climate of Margarita as a whole is hot and tropical, with little rainfall. The Macanao peninsula is particularly arid and dry. [6] In the 1950s, the mountains in the central range were forested up to about 650 metres (2,130 ft). [7] Vegetation today is mainly open cactus-chaparral, with deciduous forests in the seasonal riverbeds. [2]
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. [2]
Macanao Peninsula is relatively newly formed. In the northern part of the peninsula, littoral deposits from the early Pleistocene 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. [8]
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. [9]
Admiral Garcia Álvarez de Figueroa, governor of Margarita Province between 1626 and 1630, was known for his enjoyment of the trade in pearls from Cubagua and the Macanao peninsula. [10] The Guayqueria Indians are indigenous to the island. When Alexander von Humboldt visited in 1799 he was met by eighteen Guayqueria men. He described them as "of very tall stature. They had the appearance of great muscular strength, and the colour of their skins was something between a brown and a copper colour." [11] As of 1964, the population was about 6,500, living in five hamlets. Water was delivered by barge at no charge, but with only a few liters per capita for all uses. [12]
The Macanao peninsula is sparsely populated. Tourists may take horseback rides, or visit picturesque beaches with fishing boats, such as Punta Arenas. [13] The La Pared beach is pleasant and little used. Divers prefer Punta Arenas beach at the far west, where the water is warmest and where giant starfish may be found. [1]
Macanao is also the best part of the island for mountain biking for those prepared to handle the intense sun. [14]
The largest town is Boca de Río, which has a marine museum, This includes the skeleton of a whale, displays of boats, fish, corals, pearls and turtles, and a shallow aquarium with catsharks and sea turtles.
Isla Maragarita is the largest of the Venezuelan Caribbean islands, and the most biologically diverse. The only protected area is a small part of Laguna de La Restinga National Park. The proposed Macanao Wildlife Reserve, containing the Chacaracual Community Conservation Area (CCCA), may provide better protection. [15]
Conservation threats include high levels of illegal hunting and trafficking of wildlife and plants, and open cast mining. [15]
The peninsula is the only home of the endangered yellow-shouldered amazon parrot, and is also home to the blue-crowned parakeet. The seasonal watercourses, or quebradas, are the main nesting and feeding grounds for the yellow-shouldered amazon. They are being mined for sand and gravel to be used in construction, and in some areas the parrot is hunted, considered a pest that robs jocote orchards. [16]
The Nueva Sparta State (in Spanish: Estado Nueva Esparta, is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, and the largely uninhabited Cubagua.
Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the State of Nueva Esparta and some Caribbean coastal islands that are integrated with nearby states. These islands, with a total area of 342 square kilometres, are sparsely populated – according to the preliminary results of the 2011 Census only 2,155 people live there permanently, with another hundred from Margarita Island who live there seasonally to engage in fishing. Local government is officially under the authority of Central government in Caracas, although de facto power is often held in the heads of the sparse and somewhat isolated communities that decorate the territories.
La Asunción is a city in Venezuela. The capital of Nueva Esparta state, it lies on the Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, off the South American mainland. It is 6 miles (10 km) inland from Porlamar and is in a genuine colonial setting. It has an imposing backdrop of Santa Rosa Castle, also known as the Santa Rosa Fort, which was built to protect the city. The most important structures in the city are built around the Plaza Bolivar. The Catedral Nuestra Señora de La Asunción, dated to the 16th century, is one of the earliest churches in the country. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 28,513 people.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Pico Bolívar is the highest mountain in Venezuela, at 4,978 metres (16,332 ft). Located in Mérida State, its top is permanently covered with névé snow and three small glaciers. It can be reached only by walking; the Mérida cable car, which was the highest and longest cable car in the world when it was built, only reaches Pico Espejo. From there it is possible to climb to Pico Bolívar. The peak is named after the Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar.
Samanea saman, also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii. Common names include saman, rain tree and monkeypod. It is often placed in the genus Samanea, which by yet other authors is subsumed in Albizia entirely.
Isla de Coche is one of three islands forming the Nueva Esparta State of Venezuela, located in the Caribbean between Isla Margarita and the mainland. The other two islands are Isla Margarita, the main island of the state, and Cubagua, the smallest. Coche is coterminous with the municipality of Villalba, with the municipal seat at San Pedro de Coche, the largest town. Moreover, Cache Island has continue to sustain the fishing tradition.
The Venezuelan Coastal Range, also known as Venezuelan Caribbean Mountain System is a mountain range system and one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela, that runs along the central and eastern portions of Venezuela's northern coast. The range is a northeastern extension of the Andes, and is also known as the Maritime Andes. It covers around 48,866 km2, being the 4th largest natural region in Venezuela.
The Insular Region is one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela and also, one of the 10 administrative regions in which Venezuela was divided for its development plans; it comprises all of the nation's islands, and is formed by the state of Nueva Esparta and the Federal Dependencies.
Cubagua or Isla de Cubagua is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Isla Margarita and Coche. It is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of Araya Peninsula, the closest mainland area.
Andres Miguel Salazar Marcano Airport is an airport serving Isla de Coche, an island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta.
Fernando Cervigón Marcos was a Spanish ichthyologist and marine biologist, who lived most of his life in Venezuela. He discovered and described numerous species of fish including the Caribbean roughshark and is author of numerous works on fish and Venezuela's ocean environment including Los Peces Marinos de Venezuela. He was the president of the Museo del Mar on Margarita Island, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela.
Garcia Álvarez de Figueroa was a Spanish soldier who was Governor of the Margarita Province, based on Isla Margarita off the coast of what today is Venezuela, from 1626 to 1630.
Laguna de la Restinga is a national park on the Isla Margarita, Nueva Esparta state, Venezuela. The main part of the park is a large salt lagoon, rich in fish and birdlife. It is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, and is classified as an Important Bird Area.
La Guardia is a fishing and tourist community on the northwest coast of Isla Margarita, Venezuela.
Vasum muricatum, common name the Caribbean vase, is a species of medium to large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae.
San Carlos de Borromeo Fortress is a colonial fortress in the Bay of Pampatar in the northeast of Isla Margarita, Venezuela. It was completed in 1684 for protection against the constant threat of pirates. The fortress was ransacked several times before Venezuela gained independence from Spain. Today the castle has been restored and serves as a museum.
The Araya and Paria xeric scrub (NT1301) is an ecoregion in Venezuela that stretches along the Caribbean coast to the west of Trinidad, and that includes Margarita Island and some smaller islands. The ecoregion includes dune herbs, dry thorn scrubs and deciduous forests. The mountains on Margarita Island hold montane forests similar to those in the mainland coastal range. The beaches are used for breeding by sea turtles. Some endemic bird species are threatened with extinction by illegal capture for the pet trade. Deforestation and over-grazing by goats are also problems.
The Margarita Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival, sometimes known as FilMar,:107 is an important international cultural event dedicated to generating spaces for the distribution and promotion of the best of Venezuelan, Latin American, and Caribbean film.