Rio Abajo State Forest is a forest preserve in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

owned by the

Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies that are responsible for state-level regulating, monitoring, managing, and protecting environmental and public health concerns. The exact duties of ...

and one of the 20 state forests in the island. It was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

in 1980 and constitutes an area of 3,590 acres. It consists mostly of

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

wet and moist karst forest.

Mogote A mogote () is a generally isolated, steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overv ...

s and

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s fill the landscape. The forest preserve is located in the municipalities of

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

and

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

. In addition to its ecological value the forest also contains a number of archaeological sites.

History

Much of the development within the forest area was made by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) during the 20th century. The forest preserve was one of the five designated forests designated in 1943 by the

Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) was one of the alphabet agencies of the New Deal established by the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Created on May 28, 1935, the PRRA's first directors included American j ...

(Spanish: ''Administración de Reconstrucción de Puerto Rico'') to preserve the remaining forested areas in the island. This forest also protects a large portion of the

Arecibo River Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ca ...

hydrological basin. The remains of the lumber roads cut by the loggers and CCC workers have now become trails. Due to its value as an ideal representation of the karstic ecosystems in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, the state forest was designated a

by the

United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

in 1980.

Geography

Río Abajo State Forest is located on rugged

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

ic terrain in north-central Puerto Rico, between the municipalities of Arecibo ( Hato Viejo and Río Arriba) and Utuado ( Caguana and

Río Abajo Río Abajo is a Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento within Panama City, in Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama with a population of 26,607 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 33,155; its population as of 2000 was 28,714. It is ...

Geology

The forest preserve is part of the Montebello karst, part of the Cibao formation in the

Northern karst The Northern Karst Belt (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Cinturón del Carso Norteño'') is a limestone karst landscape located in the northwestern region of Puerto Rico. A karst is a topographical zone formed by the dissolution of soluble porous roc ...

zone of Puerto Rico and its most prominent landforms are

mogote A mogote () is a generally isolated, steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overv ...

s, distinctive steep eroded hills composed of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. Caves, canyons, mesas, sinkholes and ravines are also very common in this type of geology and can be encountered within the forest limits. This is the only place in Puerto Rico where the great Eocene-Oligocene unconformity can be clearly seen.

Ecology and conservation

The forest is home to wildlife that include

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

such as the

Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk The Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus brunnescens'') is an endangered subspecies of the broad-winged hawk (''B. platypterus''). It is a small hawk that occurs in Puerto Rico, inhabiting the Toro Negro State Forest.Puerto Rican boa The Puerto Rican boa (''Chilabothrus inornatus''), most commonly known as Culebrón ("big snake"), is a large species of boa endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a terrestrial and arboreal snake with a pale brown to dark brown coloration. It grows to ...

(''Chilabothrus inornatus''), and a captive population of critically endangered

Puerto Rican parrot The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'' (Taíno), is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neotrop ...

s (''Amazona vittata''). Captive parrots are slowly being released into Rio Abajo in an attempt to form a second population.

Flora

The forest is home to more than 175 species of trees, out of which about 47 species are considered endangered or threatened. Some of the most common plant species are the ceiba or kapok (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order (biology), order Malvales and the family (biology), family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, ...

''), algarrobo (''

Samanea saman ''Samanea saman'' is a species of Flowering plant, flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoideae, Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. It is often placed in the genus ''Samanea'', which by yet other aut ...

''), jobo (''

Spondias mombin ''Spondias mombin'', also known as yellow mombin, hog plum, amra or cajazeira, is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the ...

''), maga (''

Thespesia grandiflora ''Thespesia grandiflora'', most commonly known as Maga, and also referred to as Maga Colorada ("Red Maga") and Puerto Rican hibiscus, is a tree in the family Malvaceae of the rosids clade endemic to Puerto Rico, where its flower is officially rec ...

''), tabaiba ('' Sapium laurocerasus''), cohoba (''

Cojoba arborea ''Cojoba arborea'', the wild tamarind, royal mahogany, everfresh tree, or lorito, is a leguminous tree of the family Fabaceae found in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, southward to Ecuador in South America at elevations to . The tree ...

''), and white fiddlewood ('' Vitex divaricata''). The forest is also home to one of the four remaining populations of '' Daphnopsis hellerana'', which only grows on limestone, erubia (''

Solanum drymophilum ''Solanum ensifolium'' is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae endemic to Puerto Rico. Commonly known as erubia, it is nearly extinct due to habitat loss. SynonymsSolanaceae Source 008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a ficti ...

''), palo de rosa (''

Ottoschulzia rhodoxylon ''Ottoschulzia rhodoxylon'' is a rare species of tree in the family Icacinaceae known by the common name ''pincho palo de rosa''. It is native to Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. When it was listed as an endangered species under the United States' End ...

''), and the critically endangered nigua (''

Cornutia obovata ''Cornutia obovata'' is a rare species of tree in the Lamiaceae, mint family, and formerly considered a member of the Verbenaceae, verbena family.Bramley, G., et alNeotropical Lamiaceae.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. It is Endemism, endemic to f ...

'').

Fauna

More than 34 species of birds have been documented in the forest. It is also a key protected habitat to the endangered Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk ('' Buteo platypterus brunnescens'') and a number of 60 individuals is estimated to live in the area. Puerto Rican parrot ( ''Amazona vittata'') populations have been re-introduced into the forest since 1983 as part of a conservation program by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

. The forest is also home to the José Luis Vivaldi Lugo Aviary, dedicated to the breeding of the endangered Puerto Rican parrot for the purpose of developing a healthy population in the area; 43 individuals have been released into the wild as of 2007.

Recreation

The reserve has a reputation for being a great camping spot (reservations required) and it offers visitors as many as 70 different walking trails that will better enable visitors to observe as much of the plant and bird life in the area as possible. Some of the trails are the Frank H. Wadsworth trail, Visitors Center trail, the Cueva del Agua trail, and the Tanamá River trail. Given the karstic topography of the area, the state forest also has a number of caves such as Cueva del Agua and Cueva Alta. The state forest is also close to other landmarks and attractions such as

Cueva Ventana Cueva Ventana () is a large cave situated atop a limestone cliff in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, overlooking the Río Grande de Arecibo valley. It is visible from the PR-123 but is accessible from a trail that begins adjacent to a Puma Energy gas stat ...

and

Dos Bocas Lake Dos Bocas Lake is a lake located in the municipalities of Arecibo and Utuado on the island of Puerto Rico. The lake was created from 1937 until it was completed in 1942 with the construction of the Dos Bocas Dam, by the Puerto Rico Electric Power ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Abajo State Forest Puerto Rico state forests Puerto Rican moist forests Arecibo, Puerto Rico Utuado, Puerto Rico National Natural Landmarks in Puerto Rico 1980 establishments in Puerto Rico Protected areas established in 1980 Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration 1943 establishments in Puerto Rico Protected areas established in 1943 Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico