| Mache River | |
|---|---|
 Near the mouth of the river | |
  Mouth location in Ecuador | |
| Location | |
| Country | Ecuador |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• coordinates | 0°15′40″N79°56′39″W / 0.261065°N 79.944214°W Coordinates: 0°15′40″N79°56′39″W / 0.261065°N 79.944214°W |
The Mache River is a river that enters the Pacific Ocean through the Cojimies Estuary on the north coast of Ecuador.
The sources of the river are protected by the 119,172 hectares (294,480 acres) Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, which covers the Mache Chindul mountain range. [1] [2] The Mache River is one of the main tributaries of the Cojimies Estuary. [1] Seven rivers flow into the estuary, but their flows have been drastically reduced and only four now flow year round. [1] The river is deflected to the north by the Cojimíes peninsula before entering the Pacific. The peninsula encloses a bay fringed with mangroves, with sandbars forming at its mouth. [3]
The estuary, on the border between Esmeraldas and Manabí provinces, contains a large section of mangroves in the Manabí mangroves ecoregion. [4] There has been extensive excavation of shrimp ponds in the salt marshes and mangroves of the bay. [3] There has been a serious decline in fish such as chame ( Dormitator latifrons ) and cockles, important sources of food and income for the local people. The two barrier islands at the mouth of the estuary are nesting areas for birds and turtles, and have ecotourism potential. [1]
The Gulf of Guayaquil–Tumbes mangroves (NT1413) are an ecoregion located in the Gulf of Guayaquil in South America, in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. It has an area of 3,300 km².
The Muisne River is a river of Ecuador that enters the Pacific Ocean in the Esmeraldas Province.
The Chongon Colonche Range or Colonche Range is a mountain range on the central Pacific coast of Ecuador. It stretches from Manabí Province in the northwest, curving southeast towards Guayaquil. The range peaks at over 800 metres above sea level and together with the Mache Chindul Range is the only major mountain range in Ecuador west of the Andes.
Jacarenema Ecological Reserve is an ecological reserve in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is near the city of Vila Velha, is readily accessible to the public and does not conform to standard Brazilian definitions of environmental units.
The Marajó várzea (NT0138) is an ecoregion of seasonally and tidally flooded várzea forest in the Amazon biome. It covers a region of sedimentary islands and floodplains at the mouth of the Amazon that is flooded twice daily as the ocean tides push the river waters onto the land. The flooded forests provide food for a wide variety of fruit-eating fish, aquatic mammals, birds and other fauna. It has no protected areas and is threatened by cattle and water-buffalo ranching, logging and fruit plantations.
The Guianan mangroves (NT1411) is a coastal ecoregion of southeastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil. The mangroves provide an important habitat for migrating birds that winter in the area. Large areas are intact, although they are threatened by destruction of the trees for timber and to make way for agriculture, and from upstream agricultural and industrial pollution.
The Amapá mangroves (NT1402) is an ecoregion along the Atlantic coast of the state of Amapá in Brazil. The low coastal plain has been formed from recent sedimentation, including sediments deposited by the rivers and sediments carried northward from the mouth of the Amazon River by strong currents and deposited by the tides. The extensive mangroves grow on the newly formed coastal mudflats and along the edges of estuaries. They merge into freshwater várzea flooded forests further inland. The ecoregion is generally well-preserved, although excessive extraction of natural resources including timber and shrimps is a concern.
The Pará mangroves (NT1427) is an ecoregion along the Atlantic coast of the state of Pará in Brazil. They constitute the western extension of the Maranhão mangroves ecoregion. The mangroves are relatively intact, although they are under some pressure from agriculture and logging.
The Guayaquil flooded grasslands (NT0905) is an ecoregion near the Pacific coast of the Ecuador. The ecoregion is critically endangered due to conversion into agricultural land.
The Ecuadorian dry forests (NT0214) is an ecoregion near the Pacific coast of the Ecuador. The habitat has been occupied by people for centuries and has been severely damaged by deforestation, overgrazing and hillside erosion due to unsustainable agriculture. Only 1% of the original forest remains. The patches of forest, mostly secondary growth, are fragmented. They are home to many endemic species at risk of extinction.
The Tumbes–Piura dry forests (NT0232) is an arid tropical ecoregion along the Pacific coasts of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion contains many endemic species of flora and birds adapted to the short wet season followed by a long dry season. Threats include extraction of wood for fuel or furniture, and capture of wild birds for sale.
The Napo moist forests (NT0142) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The Western Ecuador Moist Forests (NT0178), also known as the Pacific Forest of Ecuador, is an ecoregion in the plains and western foothills of the Andes of southern Colombia and Ecuador. At one time this region contained dense forests with highly diverse flora and fauna, and many endemic species. Most of the original habitat has now been destroyed, and the ecoregion is one of the most threatened in the world.
The South American Pacific mangroves, or Panama Bight mangroves, is an ecoregion along the Pacific coast of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The Gulf of Panama mangroves (NT1414) is an ecoregion along the Pacific coast of Panama and Colombia. The mangroves experience seasonal flooding with high levels of sediment, and occasional extreme storms or very low rainfall due to El Niño effects. They are important as a breeding or nursery area for marine species. Areas of the mangroves have been recognized as Important Bird Areas and Ramsar wetlands. The ecoregion has been severely degraded by clearance of mangroves for agriculture, pasturage and shrimp farming, by urban pressure around Panama City, and by pollution related to the Panama Canal.
The Esmeraldas-Pacific Colombia mangroves (NT1409) is an ecoregion of mangrove forests along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. It is threatened by human population growth, leading to over-exploitation for wood and clearance for farming and aquaculture.
The Manabí mangroves (NT1418) is an ecoregion along the Pacific coast of Ecuador. The mangroves serve important functions in the marine and terrestrial ecology. They have been severely degraded and fragmented, particularly in the northern region. Construction of shrimp farms caused much damage in the past, but is now banned. Sedimentation caused by overgrazing in higher lands is an issue, as are human activities such as port and highway construction, urbanization, waste disposal and so on.
The Ensenada de Mompiche is a bay on the Pacific coast of northern Ecuador.
The Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve is an ecological reserve in the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabí, Ecuador. It protects a mountainous area in the transition from tropical rain forest in the north to dry forest in the south. It contains the Cube Lagoon, which has been designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance.
The Rio Piranhas mangroves ecoregion covers a series of mangrove forests along the Atlantic Ocean coast of the eastern tip of Brazil. The mangrove sections are spread across 350 km, from the mouth of the Mamanguape River in the north, to the vicinity of Maceió in the south. This coast is centered on the city of Recife, and the mangrove sections often surround industrial ports and cities.