Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge, part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in the northern part of Costa Rica, southeast of Upala near the border with Nicaragua in the Alajuela province. The refuge is a wetlands site that is home to many migratory waterfowl during part of the year. It was designated a reserve in 1984 and a Ramsar site on 27 December 1991.
Description The refuge is located in the lower basin of the Frío River, split between two cantons: 83% in Los Chiles, with the rest in Guatuso. It sits at an altitude of around above sea level.
The Ramsar site describes it as "a shallow freshwater lagoon ... surrounded by seasonally inundated marshes and woodland." That lagoon, Laguna Caño Negro, is fed by the Frío River and its tributary the Río Mónico during the rainy season. It covers about at its greatest extent, but during the dry season from January to April, it shrinks into separate smaller lakes, including Laguna San Sebastián.
Wetlands occupy approximately of Caño Negro. They consist of "slow-flowing rivers, streams, mangrove swamps, seasonally flooded grasslands, lowlands, palm groves, and permanently and seasonally flooded woodlands."
A 2009 survey determined that the government owned 56% of the refuge, nearly all of it bodies of water, while the rest, , was privately owned.
Climate The average temperature is , and the average annual rainfall is , or . The dry season, from January to April, averages less than , with March and April usually getting less than .
Wildlife It is an important site for many migratory bird species. More than 230 bird species have been detected in the mangroves.
There are also caimans and tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus), among many other species.
Facilities At one time, there were no public facilities and the area could only be explored by boat, but an undated Costa Rica Star article states that a visitor's center, a pier adjacent to the center, and walkways have been built to make it accessible even to the wheelchair-bound.
References
External links
at Costa Rica National Parks Map of Caño Negro, from SINAC