Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park
View from Tortuguero Mountain
Map
LocationCosta Rica
Nearest cityTortuguero
Coordinates10°32′28″N 83°30′08″W / 10.54111°N 83.50222°W / 10.54111; -83.50222
Area312 km2 (194 m2)
Established1975
Visitors10,000[1] (in 1995)
Governing bodyNational System of Conservation Areas (SINAC)
Tortuguero National Park is located in Costa Rica
Tortuguero National Park
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Location in Costa Rica
Official nameHumedal Caribe Noreste
Designated20 March 1996
Reference no.811[2]
View of Control Office of Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park is a national park in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is situated within the Tortuguero Conservation Area of the northeastern part of the country.[3] Despite its remote location, reachable only by airplane or boat, it is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica.[4] The park has a large variety of biological diversity due to the existence within the reserve of eleven different habitats, including rainforest, mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. Located in a tropical climate, it is very humid, and receives up to 250 inches (6,400 mm) of rain a year.[3][4][5]

The park, a protected area within the northeastern Caribbean wetlands, was recognized under Ramsar Convention on 3 March 1991 for its rich biological diversity and ecosystems that support threatened flora and fauna species. Set in a natural wetland of the Caribbean coast, it forms a corridor with another protected area, the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve of Nicaragua. It is a key Ramsar Site.[5][6]

  1. ^ MINAE, EU (5 February 1996). Application Form Ramsar Wetland site accreditation (PDF) (Report). MINAE-EU. pp. 1–14. CR811RIS. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Humedal Caribe Noreste". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Costa Rica National Parks: Tortuguero National Park". Official website of Costa Rica National Parks. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Tortuguero National Park". World Headquarters. Costa Rica. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b Fodor's Costa Rica. Random House Digital, Inc. 2012. p. 133. ISBN 9780876371657. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Costa Rica Ramsar Site 811(WI Site 6CR006)". Wetlands International. Retrieved 23 October 2012.