| La Parguera Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Reserva Natural de la Parguera | |
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 La Parguera cays | |
  Location in Puerto Rico | |
| Location | Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico |
| Nearest city | Lajas, Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates | 17°58′36″N 67°0′44″W / 17.97667°N 67.01222°W |
| Area | 652.03 cda (633.27 acres) |
| Established | September 20, 1979 |
| Governing body | Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) |
La Parguera Nature Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Natural de la Parguera) is a protected area located in the southwestern Puerto Rico, primarily in the municipality of Lajas but also covering cays and islets under the municipal jurisdictions of Guánica and Cabo Rojo.[1] The nature reserve is itself a unit of the Boquerón State Forest and it protects the Bahía Montalva mangrove forest in addition to mangrove bays, salt marshes and lagoons located along the coast of the Parguera barrio of Lajas, including its numerous cays and coral reefs.[2] The reserve is mostly famous for its bioluminescent bay, locally called Bahía Fosforecente, (Spanish for 'phosphorescent bay'), one of the three of its kind in Puerto Rico and one of the seven year-round places where bioluminescent can be seen in the Caribbean.[3]
- ^ Fuentes Santiago; Rivera Ortiz; Pagán Villegas; Quevedo Bonilla, Giovanna I.; Manuel; Irma M.; Vicente (June 2000). "DOCUMENTO DE DESIGNACION PARA LA EXTENSION DE LA RESERVA NATURAL LA PARGUERA" (PDF). drna.pr.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "El Bosque Estatal de Boquerón". DRNA. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ "La Parguera". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.