Page 72 - CARIBE TOURIST GUIDE

Barra del Colorado NSR
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Along with Tortuguero National Park, Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge is the most important nesting site for green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the entire western half of the Caribbean.
Barra del Colorado is part of the site called the Northeastern Caribbean Wetland, declared a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 1996, an outstanding representative of the natural wetlands found on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge is a corridor between Tortuguero National Park and Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua (part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor). It is physically connected to Tortuguero National Park to the south (in the Tortuguero- Barra del Colorado Biological Corridor) and to the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve to the north. Maintaining and strengthening these connections is essential for the ecological viability of various flora and fauna species, not only in Barra del Colorado, but also in Tortuguero National Park to the south, which has no connection to other protected areas.
Most of the area is very swampy, with marginal soils unsuitable for agriculture and livestock, though the park does have a high tourism potential.
Boundaries
In terms of its geographic location, Barra del Colorado is located in the districts of Llanuras del Gaspar in the canton of Sarapiquí and the districts of Colorado and La Rita in the canton of Pococí.
Attractions
Forest: includes yolillo palms, felines, water springs and water resources, macaws and various tree species.
Río Colorado: includes the manatee, crocodile and various fish species and the associated waterways, including lagoons and canals.
Río Gaspar: home to several species of fish. An important river in summer as a natural water source and also has high recreational value.
Internal lagoons: Water bodies in the western sector of Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge that have no surface connection to rivers.
Estuaries or deltas: includes the Samay and Tortuguero freshwater wetlands and the mouth of the Colorado River.
Hard bottoms: Infralittoral in intertidal zones. Located facing the mouth of the Colorado River and the marine area facing Laguna Taura.
Sport fishing: Barra del Colorado is internationally renowned as one of the best sites in the world for sport fishing for tarpon, receiving anglers from all over the world every year.
Cerro Tortuguero: The Volcán Tortuguero, also called Cerro Tortuguero, is an extinct volcano located 5.5 km northwest of the town of Tortuguero and within the Tortuguero national park