Chirripó National Park is a national park of Costa Rica, encompassing parts of three provinces: San José, Limón and Cartago. It was established in 1975. It is part of the Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves/La Amistad National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique environment and outstanding biological diversity.
It is named for its most prominent feature, Cerro Chirripó, which at is the highest mountain in Costa Rica and the 38th most prominent peak in the world.
Climate The climate is dominated by two seasons: a dry season lasting from December to April and a wet season from May to November.Lindsey, Alton A. & Sawyer, John O. (1971). Vegetation of the life zones in Costa Rica, Indiana Academy of Science, p. 214
During the dry season, the upper regions are susceptible to fires. The latest recorded fires have occurred in 1953, 1958, 1976, 1977, 1981 and 1992. The 1992 fire affected over of vegetation and forced the administration to close the park for four months.
The park is one of the coldest places in Costa Rica. In fact, the coldest temperature () ever documented in Costa Rica was recorded here. Ecology
In terms of Holdridge life zones, the park can be categorized into five ecosystems:Holdridge, L.R., Grenke, W.C., Hatheway, W.H., Liang, T & Tosi, J.A. 1971. Forest Environments in Tropical Life Zones: a Pilot Study. Oxford, Pergamon Press lowland tropical wet forest, premontane tropical wet forest, lower montane wet forest, montane wet forest and subalpine wet forest (páramo). Most of the park consists of both primary rain forests and primary cloud forests. Around it changes to wet desert. Part of the Ramsar site, designated in February 2003, is located within this protected area and shared with Tapantí National Park, Los Quetzales National Park, Macho River Forest Reserve, Vueltas Hill Biological Reserve and Los Santos Forest Reserve.
Notable landscape features within the park include The Crestones, a series of distinctive rock formations declared a national symbol of Costa Rica, and Sabana de los Leones, the only high-altitude savannah in the country.
References
External links at Costa Rica National Parks