Selected Images from Exploration of the Toro Negro (Black Bull) Rainforest over 4,300 feet ๐ธ๐๐ฒ๐๐ณโ๐๐๐ฑโ๐
When created in 1935 as part of the Caribbean National Forest, the Toro Negro Forest Reserve was managed by the United States government, first via the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration of the Department of the Interior (1935โ1942) and later through the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture (1942โ1970) blah blah...ย
Then, in 1970, the Federal Government exchanged with the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the Toro Negro section of the Caribbean National Forest for some forested lands belonging to the Commonwealth and located adjacent to the much larger federal lands at Luquillo National Forest resulting in the creation at Luquillo of the current El Yunque National Forest. In 1970, the Government of Puerto Rico's Departmento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) opened the Toro Negro Forest Reserve as a Commonwealth state forest and renamed it Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro (Toro Negro State Forest).
The topography is accentuated by a large number of steep slopes and high waterfalls. Toro Negro subforests are catalogued on the basis of their elevation and content. From Cerro Maravilla, one of the tallest peaks in the forest, four of Puerto Rico's distinct forest types can be seen:ย
- Bosque Tabonuco,ย
- Bosque Micropholis Buchenavia,ย
- Bosque Sierra de Palmas, andย
- Bosque enano.
Into the dark forest
The narrow road to Cerro de Puntas
The parking space for Cerro de Puntas at the PR 143ย
Yagrumo leaves on the floor mark a tree above
Bikes and Jeeps also visit the remote regions
Inside the dark and humid forest
Views of the ground, sideways and to the top
The forest ground is our forensice map of all the trees and plants there. Below all belongs to the yagrumo - the orange stem is the cover of a new leaf
This below is basically a swamp plant
This is the Vaquiรฑa leaf - teas of this are known to dissolve kidney stones
Above we see a huge amount of fallen trees maybe from Maria and a lot of decomposition, below the Sierra Palm branches
Plants closeups
The yagrumo (center) and sierra palm share the land and sunlight very well
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Deforested peaks next to the park
Via a side road some views of the reserve
Above we see developed paths in the parks bottom and below at least three types of trees
Yunque Store -ย Raul Garcia and Gloria Mercedes
Image rights 2020 - Nikon D850 45 mp
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