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Los Nevados National Natural Park

Coordinates: 4°48′00″N 75°22′00″W / 4.8°N 75.366667°W / 4.8; -75.366667
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For the town in the Venezuelan Andes, see Los Nevados, Venezuela.
Los Nevados National Natural Park
Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados
Aerial view of Los Nevados National Park
Map showing the location of Los Nevados National Natural Park
Map showing the location of Los Nevados National Natural Park
LocationCaldas, Risaralda, Quindío and Tolima, Colombia
Nearest cityArmenia - Ibagué - Manizales - Pereira
Coordinates4°48′00″N 75°22′00″W / 4.8°N 75.366667°W / 4.8; -75.366667
Area58,300 hectares (225 sq mi)
Established1973
Visitors39,904 (in 2016)
Governing bodySINAP
Website

Los Nevados National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados) is a national park located in the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. The park features Colombia's highest and northernmost active volcanoes including the glacier-capped Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado del Tolima, and Nevado de Santa Isabel, and the glacier-free superpáramo peaks (paramillos) of Cisne, Santa Rosa and Quindío. Other elevated structures of volcanic origin within the park are Alto La Piraña, La Olleta, Cerro España, and the Peñas de Caracoli. Cerro Bravo and Cerro Machín are located outside the park but part of the same volcanic region.

The park is located in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima and spans between the municipalities Manizales, Villamaría, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Pereira, Salento, Villahermosa, Anzoátegui, Santa Isabel, Murillo, Ibagué and Casabianca.

State of the Park

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The park was temporarily closed by the authorities since March 31, 2023 because the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano has increased its activity and there are fears of a possible eruption.

Entrance through Brisas sector (northern sector of the Park) is only allowed to Valle de las Tumbas since the Servicio Geológico Colombiano has declared Nevado del Ruiz Volcano's activity at Orange Alert Level (level II). It is highly recommend for visitors to consult the state of volcanic activity in the Servicio Geológico Colombiano's web page before their visit.

On August 10 2023, the National Natural Parks of Colombia issued a resolution to open the park, authorizing the entrance of visitors, so its possible to visit it again. Take into account the new access hours to the park, which are from Monday to Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Geology

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Glacial activity has shaped the park's landscape 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above mean sea level, leaving U-shaped valleys and moraines behind. Extrusive igneous rock is dominant above 3,500 m (11,500 ft) on the eastern slopes and 2,200 m (7,200 ft) on the western slopes.[1] The Otún Lake, which lies in an extinct volcano crater,[2] and the Green Lake are located in the area.

Hydrography

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The protected area is important for the region because of the countless sources of water that originate within. Glaciers occupy 4% of the area belonging to the three volcanoes, Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado de Santa Isabel and Nevado del Tolima. The melting waters from the glaciers give birth to the rivers that originate in the park and that conform 10 basins and 19 streams of different sizes and characteristics; six of the basins flow into the Magdalena River watershed (Gualí, Lagunilla, Recio, Totare and Coello) and the remaining four (Chinchiná, Campoalegre, Otún and Quindío) into the Cauca River watershed.

The park's hydrographic networks supply water to over for 2,000,000 inhabitants in the region, to coffee-growers and to most of the rice and cotton crops in the Tolima Department.[2]

The Otún wetland system, located within the Park, was declared an internationally important Ramsar Convention wetland.

Glacial retreat

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At the start of the 20th century, six peaks had glaciers: El Ruiz, Santa Isabel, Tolima, El Cisne, Quindío and Santa Rosa. The glaciers reached as low as 4500 meters above sea level.

The phenomenon of glacial retreat has been severe since the mid-twentieth century. Of the former six peaks with glaciers, there are currently only three: Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado de Santa Isabel and Nevado de Tolima. The glaciers of the three lower peaks (Quindío, El Cisne, and Santa Rosa) melted completely by the 1960s. The ice line is now above 4800 meters in elevation.

In 2002, IDEAM warned about the melting of the ice caps of the snow-capped mountains of the national park. Further proof of this was the disappearance of the Ice Cathedrals, which were huge caverns in the lower part of the Nevado del Ruiz glaciers. They existed before 1995 and were frequented by climbers.

The surviving glaciers face a constant process of melting, the situation being critical for the Tolima and Santa Isabel volcanoes, whose glacial areas are less than one square kilometer each. These two glaciers are expected to disappear between 2030 and 2040.

Flora and fauna

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The park is composed of diverse ecosystems that change depending on the altitude. The lower regions of the park are composed of Andean forests, high Andean forests and high Andean wetlands. The higher regions of the park consist of the páramo and super-páramo ecosystems. The páramo is composed of grassland, peat bog, scrubland, swamps and lagoons and occupies 80% of the park's area. The super-páramo is a lunar-like landscape, composed of rocks, ashes, and sparse vegetation.

Flora

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The area is home to 1250 species of vascular plants, 200 bryophytes, 300 lichens and 180 macroscopic fungi.[1] On the lower slopes and in the valleys the Andean wax palms are dominant. The upper Andean forest has trees reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) in height.[2] In the páramo, frailejones dominate the landscape and a range of mosses, lichens can be observed. Coulored algae can be found in the various lagoons.

Fauna

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Noteworthy birds include blue-crowned motmot, yellow-eared parrot, Fuertes's parrot, rufous-fronted parakeet, Andean condor, brown-banded antpitta and ruddy duck. The buffy helmetcrest hummingbird is endemic to the region.[1][2][3] Noteworthy mammals include the mountain tapir, spectacled bear, northern pudú, oncilla, cougar and white-eared opossum.[2]

Notable peaks

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The following mountains in the park have an elevation of at least 4500 meters and a topographic prominence of at least 100 meters. Some mountains have multiple peaks, in which case only data for the highest one is listed.[notes 1] [4] [5] [6] [7]

# Peak Coord. Dept. Elev. (m) Prom. (m) Col (m) Jut (m) Remarks
1 Nevado del Ruiz 4°53′33″N 75°19′26″W / 4.8926°N 75.3238°W / 4.8926; -75.3238 Caldas, Tolima 5321 2056 3265 635 Active stratovolcano composed of several domes, cones, caldera, and glaciers. Elevation estimates range from 5279 m to 5321 m. Highest point in Caldas.[5] Associated Indigenous terms: Kumanday; Tama; Tabuchía.[8]
2 Nevado del Tolima 4°39′30″N 75°19′47″W / 4.6583°N 75.3297°W / 4.6583; -75.3297 Tolima 5276 1294 3982 1159 Active stratovolcano with caldera and glaciers. Elevation estimates range from 5215 m to 5276 m. Highest mountain entirely within Tolima. Associated Indigenous terms: Tol-Ima; Dulima; Yulima; Tarib.
3 Nevado de Santa Isabel 4°49′06″N 75°21′57″W / 4.8182°N 75.3657°W / 4.8182; -75.3657 Caldas, Risaralda, Tolima 4950 505 4445 480 Active shield volcano, composed of three domes almost equal in height, with glaciers. The southern dome is the highest point in Risaralda.[5] Associated Indigenous terms: Poleka Kasue; Tataquí.[9]
4 La Olleta Volcano 4°53′35″N 75°21′14″W / 4.8930°N 75.3539°W / 4.8930; -75.3539 Caldas 4875 170 4705 583 Pleistocene-age adventitious volcano (parasitic cone) of Nevado del Ruiz Volcanic Complex, with intermittent snow.[8] Highest peak entirely within Caldas.
5 Nevado (Paramillo) del Quindío 4°42′04″N 75°23′09″W / 4.7010°N 75.3859°W / 4.7010; -75.3859 Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima 4760 381 4379 476 Potentially active stratovolcano[10] composed of six peaks similar in height, with intermittent snow. Highest point in Quindío.[5] Associated Indigenous terms: Quindiu; Quinde; Kinti; Q'inti. [11] [12]
6 Nevado (Paramillo) del Cisne 4°50′34″N 75°20′43″W / 4.8427°N 75.3454°W / 4.8427; -75.3454 Caldas, Tolima 4700 255 4445 423 Recently active lava dome composed of several peaks of similar height, including Morro Negro. Intermittent snow.
7 Paramillo de Santa Rosa 4°47′59″N 75°27′27″W / 4.7997°N 75.4576°W / 4.7997; -75.4576 Risaralda 4600 515 4085 606 Recently active stratovolcano composed of several peaks of similar height, with intermittent snow.[13] Highest mountain entirely within Risaralda.
8 Peñas de Caracoli (Cerros de Alsacia) 4°44′05″N 75°22′57″W / 4.7346°N 75.3824°W / 4.7346; -75.3824 Risaralda, Tolima 4600 175 4425 371 Chain of small recently active volcanic cones and domes of similar heights (from north to south: Otún, Azulero, Alsacia, El Condor, Totarito, Arenero, San Carlos, Caracoli); together with Cerro España they comprise the Cerro España Volcanic Complex.[10] Intermittent snow.
9 La Piraña Volcano 4°54′05″N 75°17′11″W / 4.9015°N 75.2865°W / 4.9015; -75.2865 Tolima 4600 140 4460 513 Pleistocene-age adventitious volcano (parasitic cone) of Nevado del Ruiz Volcanic Complex.[8] Intermittent snow.
10 Cerro España Volcano 4°45′19″N 75°22′19″W / 4.7552°N 75.3719°W / 4.7552; -75.3719 Tolima 4550 205 4345 353 Recently active stratovolcano with eroded caldera.[10] Intermittent snow.
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  • Nevado del Tolima
    Nevado del Tolima
  • Nevado del Ruiz
    Nevado del Ruiz
  • Nevado del Ruiz paramo
    Nevado del Ruiz paramo
  • Wax palm
    Wax palm
  • Buffy Helmetcrest (Oxypogon stuebelii)
    Buffy Helmetcrest (Oxypogon stuebelii)

Notes

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  1. ^ Note that topographic data vary slightly in accuracy/precision due to surveying history and techniques, changing environmental conditions (e.g. melting snow and ice), and digital model selection, which lead to some disagreement between sources.

Cited sources

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  1. ^ a b c Rangel-Ch., J. Orlando; Garzón-C., Aída (1997). "Region of Los Nevados Natural National Park". In Davis, S.D.; Heywood, V.H.; Herrera-MacBryde, O.; Villa-Lobos, J.; Hamilton, A. (eds.). Centres of Plant Diversity: A Guide and Strategy for Their Conservation. Volume 3: The Americas. Cambridge, England: World Wide Fund for Nature, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. ISBN 2-8317-0199-6. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010..
  2. ^ a b c d e "Nature & Science Los Nevados". Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  3. ^ IUCN 1982, p. 144
  4. ^ "OpenTopoMap". Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Colombia Department High Points". Peakbagger. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Scott (UserID: 16365). "Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados". summitpost.org. Retrieved July 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Xu, Kai. "PEAKJUT". Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Ceballos–Hernández, Julián Andrés; Martínez–Tabares, Lilly Maritza; Valencia–Ramírez, Luis Gerónimo; Pulgarín–Alzate, Bernardo Alonso; Correa–Tamayo, Ana María & Narváez–Marulanda, Blanca Liliana (27 November 2020). "Chapter 7: Geological evolution of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcanic Complex". In Gómez Tapias, Jorge & Pinilla Pachon, Ana Oliva (eds.). The Geology of Colombia. Publicaciones Geológicas Especiales 38. Vol. 4, Quaternary. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 267–296. doi:10.32685/pub.esp.38.2019.07. ISBN 978-958-52959-6-4.
  9. ^ Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales. "VOLCÁN NEVADO SANTA ISABEL". IDEAM. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Monsalve–Bustamante, Maria Luisa (27 November 2020). "Chapter 3: The volcanic front in Colombia: Segmentation and recent and historical activity". In Gómez Tapias, Jorge & Pinilla Pachon, Ana Oliva (eds.). The Geology of Colombia. Publicaciones Geológicas Especiales 38. Vol. 4–Quaternary. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 97–159. doi:10.32685/pub.esp.38.2019.03. ISBN 978-958-52959-6-4.
  11. ^ Medina Franco, Germán (16 May 2021). "Variaciones sobre el nombre del Quindío" [Variations of the name Quindío]. Nueva Cronica del Quindío (in Spanish). Quindío, Colombia. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  12. ^ Rodríguez Jaramillo, Armando (15 August 2022). "El vocablo Quindío en la historia de Colombia" [The word Quindío in the history of Colombia]. El Quindiano (in Spanish). Quindío, Colombia. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  13. ^ Pulgarín–Alzate, Bernardo Alonso; Tamayo–Alzate, Mauricio; Correa–Tamayo, Ana María; Ceballos–Hernández, Julián Andrés; Cruz–Toro, Yeni Patricia & Méndez–Fajury, Ricardo (27 November 2020). "Chapter 5: Stratigraphy and geological evolution of the Paramillo de Santa Rosa Volcanic Complex and its Pleistocene to Holocene eruptive history". In Gómez Tapias, Jorge & Pinilla Pachon, Ana Oliva (eds.). The Geology of Colombia. Publicaciones Geológicas Especiales 38. Vol. 4, Quaternary. Servicio Geológico Colombiano. pp. 197–226. doi:10.32685/pub.esp.38.2019.05. ISBN 978-958-52959-6-4.

General references

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Media related to Parque Nacional Natural de los Nevados at Wikimedia Commons

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