peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
landform, that forms the western end of the
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
History
...
in the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
, in northern Venezuela.
It is also a Venezuelan municipality, the Municipality of Macanao Peninsula (''Municipio Península de Macanao''), in the state of
Nueva Esparta
The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, Venezuela, Coche, and the lightly inhabited Cubagua.
The state is located off the ...
. The
municipal seat
A municipal seat (Spanish: ; ) is the administrative center and seat of government of a municipality or civil parish, with other villages or towns subordinated. The term is used in Brazil, Colombia,Boca de Río.
Geography
The peninsula is connected to the rest of Isla Margarita by a thin strip of land in
Laguna de la Restinga
Laguna de la Restinga is a national park on the Isla Margarita, Nueva Esparta state, Venezuela.
The main part of the park is a large salt lagoon, rich in fish and birdlife. It is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, and ...
National Park. Sixty years ago, it was an island.
The peninsula has an area of , rising from sea level to at the peak of Cerro Macanao.
A ridge of high land runs along the peninsula from east to west. The main east-west crest is sharp and narrow.
The mountains are smaller than in Maragarita, but are much more rugged, with many steep-sided valleys cutting through the mountain sides.
The more remote beaches can only be reached via dirt roads.
The climate of Margarita as a whole is hot and tropical, with little rainfall. The Macanao peninsula is particularly arid and dry. In the 1950s, the mountains in the central range were forested up to about .
Vegetation today is mainly open cactus-chaparral, with deciduous forests in the seasonal riverbeds.
The mean average temperature is , and mean annual rainfall is . Trade winds blow from the northeast, so rainfall is highest on the northern side.
Geology
Macanao Peninsula is relatively newly formed. In the northern part of the peninsula,
littoral
The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...
deposits from the early
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
form a terrace high made of a sandy marl that contains the
bivalve
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
s '' Lyropecten arnoldi''. In the south, a littoral terrace high dates to the mid-Pleistocene, and
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcare ...
clays from the Late Pleistocene form a terrace high. There are many raised beaches from the
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
.
The highlands of the peninsula contain
amphibolite
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose ...
and
eclogite
Eclogite () is a metamorphic rock containing garnet ( almandine- pyrope) hosted in a matrix of sodium-rich pyroxene ( omphacite). Accessory minerals include kyanite, rutile, quartz, lawsonite, coesite, amphibole, phengite, paragonite, zoisit ...
mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
rocks which, like
tholeiitic
The tholeiitic magma series () is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic ...
metabasalt
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (fla ...
, are similar to the rocks found both on
island arc
Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...
s and on
mid-ocean ridge
A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a undersea mountain range, seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading ...
Margarita Province
Margarita Province (1525 - 1864) was one of the provinces of the Spanish Empire, then one of the provinces of Gran Colombia, and later one of the Provinces of Venezuela. In Gran Colombia it belonged to the Orinoco Department which was created in ...
between 1626 and 1630, was known for his enjoyment of the trade in pearls from
Cubagua
Cubagua Island or Isla de Cubagua () is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Margarita Island and Coche Island. It is located north of the Araya Peninsula, the closest ...
and the Macanao peninsula.
The Guayqueria Indians are indigenous to the island. When
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...
visited in 1799 he was met by eighteen Guayqueria men. He described them as "of very tall stature. They had the appearance of great muscular strength, and the colour of their skins was something between a brown and a copper colour."
As of 1964, the population was about 6,500, living in five hamlets. Water was delivered by barge at no charge, but with only a few liters per capita for all uses.
Tourism
The Macanao peninsula is sparsely populated. Tourists may take horseback rides, or visit picturesque beaches with fishing boats, such as Punta Arenas. The ''La Pared'' beach is pleasant and little used. Divers prefer ''Punta Arenas'' beach at the far west, where the water is warmest and where giant starfish may be found.
Macanao is also the best part of the island for mountain biking for those prepared to handle the intense sun.
The largest town is Boca de Río, which has a marine museum, This includes the skeleton of a whale, displays of boats, fish, corals, pearls and turtles, and a shallow aquarium with
catshark
Catshark may refer to:
* Scyliorhinidae, a family of ground sharks, many species of which are commonly referred to as "catshark".
* Pentanchidae, a family of ground sharks with the overall name deepwater catsharks, but many species are referred ...
s and
sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...
s.
Environmental concerns
Isla Maragarita is the largest of the Venezuelan Caribbean islands, and the most biologically diverse. The only protected area is a small part of Laguna de La Restinga National Park. The proposed Macanao Wildlife Reserve, containing the Chacaracual Community Conservation Area (CCCA), may provide better protection.
Conservation threats include high levels of illegal hunting and trafficking of wildlife and plants, and open cast mining.
The peninsula is the only home of the endangered
yellow-shouldered amazon
The yellow-shouldered amazon (''Amazona barbadensis''), also known as the yellow-shouldered parrot, is a parrot of the genus '' Amazona'' that is found in the arid areas of northern Venezuela, the Venezuelan islands of Margarita and La Blanquill ...
parrot, and is also home to the
blue-crowned parakeet
The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (''Thectocercus acuticaudatus'') is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern Colombia to Curacao in ...
. The seasonal watercourses, or ''quebradas'', are the main nesting and feeding grounds for the yellow-shouldered amazon. They are being mined for sand and gravel to be used in construction, and in some areas the parrot is hunted, considered a pest that robs
jocote
''Spondias purpurea'' is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from Mexico to northern Colombia and the southwest Caribbean Islands. It has also been introduced to a ...
orchards.
Gallery
File:Macanao hill from La Restinga Lagoon.jpg, View west towards La Restinga Lagoon National Park and Macanao Peninsula.
File:Naturaleza Macanao.jpg, ''
Opuntia
''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid clima ...
'' cactus on the Macanao Peninsula.
Transport in La Restinga Lagoon.jpg, Transport in La Restinga Lagoon National Park.