Desert, characterized by a constant breeze coming from the East. Its fine unstable sand is rough to the touch and is conducive to slip. As the park is close to the city of Coro, visitors can visit the city, the first founded on the mainland and the first capital of the old Province of Venezuela. The charm of this desert is ineffable. Through its sands, the history and devotion of the Falconian people take place.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Historical review
The decision to incorporate the Médanos de Coro into the system of National Parks arose from the need to protect a sample of the desert landscape, taking into account the influences and effects that an accelerated regional development would have on the integrity of such a peculiar natural area like the dunes. The park was established by Executive Decree No. 1592 dated February 6, 1974.
The Médanos de Coro National Park is located in the jurisdiction of the Miranda and Falcón Municipalities of the Falcón State, and covers an area of 91,280 hectares, of which 42,160 they are from continental lands and more than 49,120 from marine surfaces.
Decrees
Reason
No. and Date
Creation:
1,592 dated 06/02/1974 / GO 30,325 dated 08/02/1974.
to download
Plan of Regulation and Regulation of use
No. and Date
to download
Nº 667 dated 10/05/1995 / GO Nº 4.904 (Extraordinary) dated 26/05/1995.
to download
Altimetry
0-20
Weather
The climate is dry, warm semi-arid and with nine months of drought.
Temperature
27º C – 30º.
Precipitation (mm)
250 – 500 mm.
state
Falcon
State
Superfice (Ha)
%
Falcon
91,280
100
Total Area (Ha)
91,280
Public consultation
Yes
Date of the Public Consultation workshops
17 to 03/19/93
The dunes, changing by the action of the wind, characterize this park. In the surroundings there are mangroves, thorns and lands with herbaceous vegetation. Plant species are scarce due to the wind and the aridity of the area. They predominate: cují yaque, yabo, espinito, tunas, cardones and cactus. The fauna is scarce, but reptiles, lizards and iguanas are common. Between the birds they emphasize: primitive gavilán, perdiz, dora, cardinal coriano and turpial. The most common mammals are: goat, fox, bat, anteater and rabbit.
Los Médanos is a unique desert landscape in Venezuela.
The Park covers an area of 91,280 hectares, of which 42,160 are of continental land and more than 49,120 of marine surfaces.
Los Médanos de Coro are located exactly in the jurisdiction of the Miranda and Falcón Districts of the Falcón State. The Médanos begin in Coro and covers the territory of the Isthmus that bears his name.
Los Médanos is one of the most important natural representations of the Venezuelan Landscape.
According to Gerardo Yepez Tamayo the Médanos de Coro were formed by the constant action of the trade winds that usually blow from east to west.
In general, the process of formation of deserts such as dunes that are dunes or sand accumulations is a long-time erosive process of the constant action of wind on rocks. The wind to move the rocks continuously and for a long period of time, the pieces in very small pieces turning them into sand. Then this sand to move, by the constant action of the wind, is accumulated in piles, especially when it finds something that stops them, and so they are forming dunes, which continuously change their form as they are in continuous movement. That is why the dunes have also received the name of nomadic arenas.
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Geological and Geomorphological Information
It presents a flat relief with an arid climate and landscapes of dunes, sand dunes and salty marshes. The landscape is of the xerophilous type, corresponding to the area of tropical thorny mountain. The dunes are constituted by the accumulation of sand that moves by the permanent action of the winds that come from the East and that along the time have been depositing the sands across the isthmus, coming from the Gulf of La Vela; these mounds whose surfaces are undulated by the action of the wind can reach heights above 30 m.
Vegetation
La vegetación se adapta sobre las arenas y es escasa. Está formada por herbazales litorales-halófilos, las cuales son comunidades bajas abiertas y arbustales xerófilos litorales. El número de especies vegetales es reducido debido al viento y la aridez típica de la zona. Hacia el Sur la vegetación es más o menos densa y constituida principalmente por especies que predominan como el cují yaque Prosopis juliflora, el yabo Cerdicium praecox, las tunas Euphorbia grandicornis, cardones Cereus spp. y cactus en las zonas de dunas. La vegetación herbácea está representada por el saladillo Sporobolus virginicus, el cadillo Cenchrus echinatus. En las arenas están presentes el abrojo Tribulus cistoides y una planta endémica (se encuentra solamente en Colombia): la Lennoa madreporoides, que se adhiere a las raíces del abrojo y posee unas diminutas flores azules. En las llanuras saladas y las marismas salitrosas se observa el saladillo Sporobulus virginicus en forma de colonias, la hierba de vidrio Sesuvium portulacastrum se observa en las playas. Se han reportado 209 especies, comprendidas en 153 géneros y 50 familias. Hacía el Sur de Paraguaná, en las poblaciones conocidas como Cuara, Barrancas y Prudencio, el Parque Nacional Médanos de Coro, posee comunidades de manglares como Rhizophora mangle. Parte del Golfete de Coro está protegido como Parque Nacional. Igualmente, desde el Río Coro hasta Las Carretillas, bordeando el Istmo de Médanos, 5 km. mar adentro, lo cual hace que casi el 48% del área total corresponde a cuerpos de agua, por lo que se trata de un parque marino – costero. La importancia ecológica del Golfete de Coro como humedal, es de vital importancia por su alta productividad de peces y camarones.
Fauna
Mammals are rare, whereas reptiles, lizards and iguanas are very common. Among the birds you can find the sparrow hawk Falco sparverius, the dare Burbinus pediacus, the partridge Colinus cristatus, the cardinal corian Cardinalis phoenicius, the chuchube Mimus gilvus, the cari-cari Polyborus plancus, the dirty face parakeet Aratinga pertinax. In the mangrove zone and on the sandy beaches, the Eudocimus ruber corocora, the Fregata magnificens earwig, the Phoenicopterus ruber flamingo, the Ajaia ajaja palette, and others are common. The following reptiles can be found: the Rattlesnake Crotalus durissus, lizards and iguanas Iguana iguana. Among mammals it is possible to find the wild rabbit Sylvilagus floridanus, the common fox Cerdocyon thous, the mapurite Conepatus semistriatus,
LOCATION
Schedule
The visit to the park is from 08:00 am to 05:00 pm
Location from the Nearest City
The Médanos de Coro National Park is located in the jurisdiction of the Falcón and Miranda municipalities of the Falcón State, it includes the entire isthmus of the Paraguaná Peninsula.
How to get
By road from the city of Coro, following the route that leads to Punto Fijo and Adícora. By air to the airports of Coro and Punto Fijo.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for the Visitor
Carry out the activities in the designated sites for such purposes and abide by the protection and cleaning provisions of the park. Inform the park rangers about any irregularity.
Forbidden activities
Extract all types of vegetation and sand from dunes, hunt wild animals, spearfishing or commercial fishing, carry firearms, slings, harpoons or any other that may cause damage to natural resources, sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages, enter state of intoxication, introducing exotic species of animals and plants or seeds of any kind, bringing domestic animals, carrying out excavations, abandoning objects of any kind, driving at a speed superior to that established in road signs, entering the park at times other than established in the visiting hours without proper authorization, extract archaeological remains.