Turquino National Park
National park in Cuba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Turquino National Park, also called Sierra Maestra National Park,[3][4] is a national park located in the Sierra Maestra mountain range in southeastern Cuba.[5] It was established on 8 January 1980 with the passing of Bill 27/1980.[2] It is named after Pico Turquino, the highest point in Cuba.[4]
| Turquino National Park Parque Nacional Turquino | |
|---|---|
  Location within Cuba | |
| Location | Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba |
| Nearest city | Guamá |
| Coordinates | 19°59′22″N 76°50′9″W |
| Area | 229.38 km2 (88.56 sq mi)[1] |
| Established | January 8, 1980[2] |
Geography
The park is located in the Sierra Maestra mountain range about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Guamá in Santiago de Cuba Province.[3] It encompasses a total area of 229.38 square kilometres (88.56 sq mi).[1]
Among the mountains within the park are Pico Turbino, the highest point in Cuba at 1,975 metres (6,480 ft), Pico Cuba, Pico Real, and Pico Suecia.[3] There are also numerous waterfalls and rivers, including the Río Turquino,[5] as well as Marea del Portillo beach on Cuba's southeastern coast.[3]
Flora and fauna
The park has tropical forest habitats, including the lower elevation Cuban moist forests and higher elevation Cuban pine forests ecoregions.[6] It also has "some of the best-preserved cloud forests in the Caribbean".[7]
Turquino and the adjoining Pico La Bayamesa National Park were together designated the Turquino - Bayamesa Important Bird Area.[8] The bird species that qualified them for that status are the:[9]
- Note: Species in italics are non-resident.
- Cuban green woodpecker
- giant kingbird
- white-crowned pigeon
- Key West quail-dove
- blue-headed quail-dove
- Cuban emerald hummingbird
- great lizard cuckoo
- black-capped petrel
- Cuban pygmy owl
- bare-legged owl
- Gundlach's hawk
- Cuban trogon, Cuba's national bird
- Cuban tody
- Fernandina's flicker
- West Indian woodpecker
- Cuban pewee
- Loggerhead kingbird
- La Sagra's flycatcher
- Cuban vireo
- Cuban crow
- Cuban solitaire
- Bicknell's thrush
- Oriente warbler
- Hispaniolan oriole
- Cuban blackbird
- Greater Antillean grackle
- Western spindalis
- Cuban bullfinch
- Cuban grassquit
- grey-fronted quail-dove
Other animal species include the Cuban hutia, a large rodent, as well as several species of bats.[5]
Cuban Revolution
La Comandancia de la Plata, Fidel Castro's headquarters during the Cuban Revolution, was located in what is now the park.[5]
Operation Verano, Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista's 1958 attempt to destroy Castro's greatly outnumbered guerrilla band, which Castro had deployed west of Pico Turquino along a 15-mile (24 km) front.[10] Its failure demoralized Batista's army.[11]
Bust
A bronze bust of national hero José Martí (1853–1895), sculpted by Jilma Madera, rests on Pico Turbino.[12]
