The
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park () is
Colombia's second oldest
national park, established in 1964. It is located in the
Cordillera Oriental range, between the departments of
La Guajira,
Magdalena and
Cesar, in the mountain range of the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It is a sanctuary as well as a tourist attraction, because it offers different climate, terrain, flora and fauna environments, ranging from
beaches to snowy mountain peaks.
General
It belongs geographically to the
Amazon Basin, but it is
hydrographically a part of the
Orinoco River basin. Roughly 1.2 million people are dependent upon the freshwater supplied by important river such as
Cesar, Don Diego, Palomino, Aracataca and Tucurinca. There are currently about 30,000
indigenous people of the ethnic groups
Koguis,
Arhuacos,
Kankuamos and
Wiwa living in the area. This park is also home to the remnants of the
Tairona Culture. In 1979 the park was designated a
Biosphere reserve by
UNESCO.
Climate
It is calculated that the yearly average rainfall is 4000 mm at elevations of to
above mean sea level. The temperature varies between...
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