NATIONAL RECREATION AREA PARQUE LAGO

LOCATION NATIONAL RECREATION AREA PARQUE LAGO NEAR GUAYAQUIL REGION NATIONAL RECREATION AREA PARQUE LAGO LOCATION MAP

GENERAL

The Parque Lago National Recreation Area... Read more: Location, How to Get There, What to Do, Flora and Fauna, Reservoir, Museum, Water Sports, Fishing... It is located west of the city of Guayaquil, at Km 26 of the Guayaquil-Salinas highway, where you enter the Visitor Center that provides infrastructure for recreation. There are also secondary roads but they are difficult to access in winter, such as the road that connects The Parque Lago National Recreation Area is made up of a reservoir built on the Chongón River with the purpose of transferring water from the Daule-Peripa River to the Santa Elena Peninsula (Cajas et al. 2003). The area is located west of the foothills of the Western Cordillera of the Andes. Parallel to and very close to the coastal mountain range, the Chongón Colonche mountain range is formed, which separates the Santa Elena Peninsula from the Guayas River basin. TOURISM

The National Recreation Area of Lake Park... Read more: Location, How to get there, What to do, Flora and Fauna, Reservoir, Museum, Water Sports, Fishing... It is located west of the city of Guayaquil, at Km 26 of the Guayaquil-Salinas highway, where you enter the Visitors Center that provides infrastructure for recreation. There are also secondary roads but they are difficult to access in winter, such as the road that connects Casas Viejas (Km 22) with La Ciénaga-Aguas Negras, or the road that connects La Frutilla and La Teresita at Km 30 of the Guayaquil-Salinas highway. In this area you can practice some water sports such as kayaking and windsurfing, but it is also possible to take advantage of its green spaces to have a picnic, ride a bicycle or skate.

GAZETTED

November 15, 2002 Ministerial Agreement No. 141 OFFICIAL REGISTRY January 22, 2003 r. o. No. 5 SURFACE AREA: 2 283 ha Altitudinal Range: 0–300 masl

HIDROLOGY

The Chongón River is the river system closest to Guayaquil. It is subject to the influence of winds from the Gulf of Guayaquil and, therefore, is the basin that receives the greatest rainfall in the Santa Elena Peninsula. It originates at 300 m above sea level, in the foothills of the El Bedén-Boysen sector. Along its course it receives water from the El Guasmo, Umones, Aguas Negras, El Papayo, Las Piñas and El Bálsamo streams. The Cangaguilo and Quebrada Cóndor rivers (Casas Viejas sector) also drain into the reservoir (Valverde et al. 1997).

CLIMAT

The temperature in this formation ranges between 24–26 °C and the annual precipitation is between 500–1 000 mm with the average precipitation of 650 mm concentrated between January and May (Valverde et al. 1997).

FLORA

There are no current studies in the area, however, the Chongón Basin Management Plan (1997) reports the total intervention of native vegetation, with a few remnants of dispersed individuals of species (very separated from each other). It should be added that the plant formations described below could not be called as such, but for ease of description the classification of Sierra (1999) is used.

VEGETATION FORMATIONS

In the area there are three types of vegetation, which according to Sierra (1999) are located in the Lowlands Sector in the Central Subregion of the natural formations of the coast:

SEMI-DECIDUOUS LOWLAND FOREST (100–300 masl): This plant formation covers most of the protected area.

The tree layer surrounding the reservoir is sparse; Read all about activities such as sport fishing and its flora and fauna.

Trees grow on very steep slopes with predrenched soils. It is located between the dry deciduous forests of the lowlands and the humid forests of the coastal mountain range between 100–300 masl (Sierra 1999).

Despite the intense degree of intervention, there are small patches of original vegetation, such as: yellow (Centrolobium ochroxylum), balsam (Myroxylum peruiferum), red (Simira ecuadoriense), script (Pseudolmedia eggersii), black wood (Tabebuia billbergii), beldado (Pseudobombax guayasense, Ochroma pyramidale); Calathea insignis (Marantaceae), Bambusa angustifolia (Poaceae); (Valverde et al. 1997).

LOWLAND DECIDUOUS FOREST (50–200 masl): One of the most outstanding characteristics of this formation is that the vegetation loses its leaves during part of the year and begins to turn green after the first rains. Between May and June, a large percentage of the emerging deciduous trees of the Bombacaceae family begin to lose their leaves in order to flower in the following months. The species found in this formation are: Cavanillesia platanifolia, Ziziphus thyrsiflora, Capparis scabrida, Spondias purpurea, Tabebuia chrysantha, Pithecellobium dulce, Prosopis juliflora, and Vitex gigantea; (Valverde et al. 1997).

LOWLAND DRY SCRUB (-100 m above sea level): The vegetation is characterized by being dry, low (up to 6 m high), and thorny. In the province of Guayas, this formation is located in Santa Elena and its surroundings, bordering the Pacific Ocean (Sierra 1999).

FAUNA

There is little biological research on the reservoir. It is estimated that the best represented group is that of birds with 72 species, but it is known that it is an ideal environment for the development of bioaquatic species.

MAMMALS

About 21 species of mammals have been identified in the area. The largest and most important species are: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) and jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi); (Valverde et al. 1997). There is also a report of a rare bat species, Diclidurus albus. Chongón is the only Ecuadorian locality where this species has been recorded (Valverde et al. 1997).

BIRDS

The Parque Lago National Recreation Area in the Tumbesina Region... Read more: Location, How to Get There, What to Do, Reservoir, Museum, Water Sports, Fishing, Flora and Fauna...Tumbesia is characterized by high bird endemism. It extends from the west of the Western Cordillera of the Andes to the dry forest - from the north of the Gulf of Guayaquil to the coasts of Libertad, in Peru. The most common species with abundant populations are: black-bellied tree duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis), olive ridley cormorant (Phalacrocorax olivaceus) and great white egret (Egretta alba).

The reservoir is a locally recent habitat, which has been occupied by common waterfowl, undemanding in terms of habitat quality and by coastal birds such as pelicans (Pelecanus teras) and frigates (Fregata magnificens).

AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

The group of amphibians and reptiles is the least studied on the Ecuadorian coast, and in the case of the protected area, information is being collected. However, it is common to find Chaunus marinus (Bufonidae) and Hyloxalus infraguttatus (Dendrobatidae). Regarding reptiles, the following are common in the area: lizard (Anolis gracilipes), green iguana (Iguana iguana), Ameiva sp. (Teiidae), boa (Boa constrictor imperator) and horse (Bothrops asper); (Valverde et al. 1997).

The presence of a freshwater lobster crustacean (Querax cuadricarinatus) has been recorded in the reservoir, which is of commercial importance. On the other hand, mollusks are poorly represented: clam (Polysmesoda sp.) and snail (Pomacea sp.).

Ecuador Address: Las Casas, Crossing Street: Jose Coudrin, 2 streets above the Occidental Highway, Canton Quito, Prov. Pichincha, Neighborhood Belisario Quevedo

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