My Science School

The ecosystem in Los Roques Archipelago National Park is dominated by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds. The coral reefs here host some of the most beautiful underwater fauna and flora of the Caribbean.

In fact, Los Roques has the highest-quality coral reefs with respect to species diversity, area of live coverage, and low incidence of diseases in the Caribbean. 61 species of corals, 200 types of crustaceans, 140 varieties of molluscs, 45 kinds of echinoderms, 60 species of sponges, and 280 kinds of fish thrive here. In addition to this, Los Rosques has a rich diversity in its bird population. At least 50 species of migratory birds visit the islands here. Four globally endangered sea turtle species nest regularly on the islands. Undoubtedly, this archipelago is of high ecological value.

 

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Iguazu Falls, one of the most spectacular waterfalls of the world is situated right in the middle of a subtropical rainforest. This area is protected by the Iguazu Falls National Park.

The Park comprises a series of 275 waterfalls at the heart of the Paranaense Rainforest, located 17 kilometres from the Paran River, where the Argentine, Brazil and Paraguay borders meet. The Iguazu river flows 1320 kilometres before draining into the Paran. The rainforest surrounding the Park is home to over 2,000 species of vascular plants and animals like giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots and caymans.

The Park protects several threatened species including the jaguar, jaguarondi and South American tapir. It has a great variety of birds and butterflies too.

 

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The arid regions of the Joshua Tree National Park offer some of the best spots for stargazing and other activities like biking and hiking. Tourists flock to the Park for these reasons.

Two distinct desert ecosystems come together in Joshua Tree National Park- the Mojave and the Colorado. The land here is sculpted by strong winds and torrents of rain. Snowfall occurs occasionally at higher elevations. A variety of plants and animals thrive here.

The higher and cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the Joshua tree after which the Park is named. Compared to Mojave, Colorado is seen as the low forest, that exists below 3000 ft. The temperature here is usually higher. The California occurs naturally in five oases in the Park.

 

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Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. The Park is named after Jasper Hawes, who operated a trading post in the region for the North West Company.

Jasper National Park is noted for the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield, springs, lakes, waterfalls and mountains. The wildlife in Jasper National Park attracts thousands of people around the world.

The Park is successful in maintaining healthy population of plants and animals even while there is a dramatic decline in wildlife in most parts of North America since the past 200 years. Jasper National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

 

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The General Sherman tree, the largest tree on Earth, grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five of the ten largest trees in the world. All of them are protected in the Sequoia National Park.

Sequoia National Park is famous for its giant sequoia trees. The Park contains a significant portion of southern Sierra Nevada. It is so well preserved that the landscape still resembles the southern Sierra Nevada before Euro-American settlement. More giant sequoias can be found in Kings Canyon National Park’s General Grant Grove. Apart from giant sequoias, the Park is also famous for the caves in it. There are more than 270 known caves, including the Lilburn Cave. The Lilburn Cave is California’s longest cave with nearly 27 km surveyed passages.

 

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Famous for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, giant sequoia groves, glaciers, clear streams, lakes and mountains, Yosemite National Park is an internationally renowned conservation area.

The granitic rocks that formed almost 10 million years ago is a characteristic feature of Yosemite. With 95 per cent of the land designated as wilderness, it is the most biologically diverse region in Sierra Nevada.

With rare local geologic formations and unique soils, Yosemite provides suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants. The Park is divided into five major vegetation zones – oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine zone.

The Mariposa grove in Yosemite is home to over 500 mature sequoias. The Park also has the tallest waterfall in North America- the Yosemite Falls.

 

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Yellowstone National Park is widely regarded as the first national park in the world. Yellowstone is unique in many ways. It is the largest remaining nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth’s northern temperate zone.

The Park has a range of ecosystems comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.

Yellowstone is famous for geysers and hot springs. A geyser is a type of hot spring. Yellowstone hosts the Old Faithful Geyser, the world’s most famous geyser. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America. It surrounds a huge ancient volcano, whose remains are called the Yellowstone Caldera, one of the largest volcanic systems in North America.

The wildlife of Yellowstone is famous, especially the big mammals.

 

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The Redwood National and State Parks is a group of several state parks and one national park located in California. As the name suggest, it was set up to protect the remaining redwood forests.

The redwood trees are one among the tallest, oldest, and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. Along with the redwood forests, the parks preserve other indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, portions of rivers and other streams, and 60 kilometres of pristine coastline.

The Redwood National and State Parks is made of the Redwood National Park and California’s Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks. At the time when these parks were set up, almost 90 per cent of the native redwood trees were logged off. The revival works are progressing successfully.

 

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The Grand Canyon is one of the most visited places in Arizona. It is a gorge of the Colorado river. This rocky structure is at least 17 million years old. The river had eroded the canyon since then to form what we see today.

The Grand Canyon is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and is around 2 km deep in some places. The narrowest point us more than six kilometres wide. Nearly 40 major sedimentary rock layers are exposed in the Grand Canyon. These layers contain millions of years of geological history. Some of these layers are two billion years old.

The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1979.

 

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Braulio Carillo National Park in Costa Rica exists within a volcanic conservation area. The Park was built in order to limit the developments in the area after the construction of the Limon Highway, a road of industrial importance.

The Park hosts the Barva Volcano, several other dormant volcanoes, various rivers and crater lakes. More than 90 per cent of the Park is covered with forests. The vegetation in the Park varies according to the altitude; there are cloud forests in high altitudes and tropical rainforests in lowlands.

Braulio Carillo has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in Costa Rica. More than 600 species of trees, 530 species of birds and 135 species of mammals thrive here.

 

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Banff National Park of Canada has mesmerized thousands of people with its otherworldly beauty. It is the first and oldest national park of Canada.

With the terrain shifting from glaciers and ice fields to coniferous forests and picturesque lakes, Banff is located in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. The mountains here were formed 80 million years ago, when the sedimentary rocks were pushed over to a side to form a new rock strata. Glaciers had covered most of the Park earlier.

Now, they are found only on the mountain slopes. They include the Columbia Icefield, the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies. The current shape of the mountains can be credited to erosion from water to ice. Banff National Park has a subcratic climate, it spreads over three eco regions- the montane, subalpine, and alpine.

 

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Cabo Pulmo is home to the only Pacific coral reef in the Sea of Cortez which is estimated to be at least 20,000 years old. It is in fact one of the oldest and the northernmost coral reef in the Pacific Ocean.

The reef system in Cabo Pulmo supports at least 200 tons of fish of great commercial value. The Park is surrounded by rocky outcrops that are at least a thousand years old. There are also layers of sandstone that hold a lot of fossils.

For many years, this precious place was unprotected. But through the tenacious efforts of the Cabo Pilmo community, in 1995, the waters offshore from Cabo Pulmo were designated a National Marine Park by the Mexican government.

 

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Every year, scores of migratory aquatic birds including spoonbills, flamingos and pelicans come to nest in the marshy lands of Cuba’s Caguanes National park. But, the number of these birds declined in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Sugar mills around the Park polluted the Park and this was the reason behind the decline in their numbers. Three sugar mills were shut down after this in order to reduce pollution. As a result, the number of migratory birds visiting the Park is increasing since then.

Caguanes National park covers the Caguanes peninsula as well as the Guayaberas swamps and mangroves. There are many caves, arches and niches that open to the sea. This Park is home to 200 varieties of animals out of which 24 are endemic. 112 species of birds nest in the marsh and coastal areas.

 

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Mount Fuji remains as a symbol of Japan. Renowned around the world for its beauty, Mt. Fuji is the tallest of Japan’s mountains. This magnificent mountain is located in Japan’s Fuji Hakone-Izu National Park.

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park consists of Mount-Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Quite a long list indeed! The Park holds a variety of landscapes and geological formations ranging from hot springs to volcanic islands. One can find coastlines, mountainous areas, swamps, plateaus, hot springs, lakes, and more than 1000 volcanic islands in the Park. No wonder, it is the most visited national park in Japan.

Speaking of vegetation, the forests of the Park range from broad-leaf deciduous forests to coniferous forests. It is home to the famous Japanese to beach trees. The Izu Islands are a stopping point for many migratory birds.

 

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There is an underground river in Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Philippines. Unlike other rivers of the world, this river emerges directly into the sea, and its lower portion is subject to tidal influences. St. Paul’s Underground River Cave is more than 24 kilometres long. It has an 8.2-kilometre-long underground section too.

The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem. In fact, it holds one of the most important forests in Asia. There is a range of forests formations in the Park representing eight of the thirteen forest types found in tropical Asia.

The mountains in the Park have a thick cover of rainforest. The vegetation changes near the limestone karst. Most of the threatened and restricted range birds of the Palawan Endemic Bird Area have been found here. These birds including the Palawan pheasant peacock and Philippine cockatoo can be found mostly near the lowlands.

 

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