Garajonay National Park

Garajonay National Park (Parque nacional de Garajonay) is located in the center and north of the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands. It was declared a national park in 1981 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. It occupies 15 square miles (40 square km) and it extends into each of the municipalities on the island. Jump to: navigation, search La Gomera is also a Guatemalan city in the department of Escuintla, see La Gomera, Guatemala La Gomera is a Spanish island, the second smallest island of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search World Heritage Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ... Jump to: navigation, search UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1945. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The park is named after the rock formation of Garajonay, the highest point on the island at 1,484 meters (4,869 feet). It also includes a small plateau whose altitude is 2,600-4,600 feet (790-1,400 m) above sea level. Jump to: navigation, search In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ...

The park provides the best example of laurisilva, a humid subtropical forest that in the Tertiary covered almost all of Europe. It is also found on the Azores and the Madeira Islands. Laurus azorica, known as Azores Laurel, or by the Portuguese names Louro, Loureiro, Louro-da-terra, and Louro-de-cheiro, can be found in the park, as well as Laurus canariensis, known as Canary Laurel. Laurisilva is a type of humid subtropical forest found on several of the Macaronesian islands of the north Atlantic, namely the Azores, Madeira Islands, and the Canary Islands. ... The Tertiary period was previously one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 65. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Jump to: navigation, search Location Motto of the autonomous region: Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos (Portuguese: Rather die free than peacefully subjected) Official language Portuguese Capitals Ponta Delgada (Presidency of the autonomous government), Angra do Heroísmo (Supreme Court), Horta (Legislative Assembly) Other towns Praia da Vitória... Location | Detail Motto of the autonomous region: Das ilhas, as mais belas e livres (Portuguese: Of the islands, the most beautiful and free) Official language Portuguese Capital Funchal Other towns Porto Santo, Machico, Santa Cruz, Câmara de Lobos, Santana, Ribeira Brava, Caniço Area 797 km² Population  - Total (1991... Species Azores Laurel Canary Laurel (L.) Bay Laurel Laurus is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. ... Species Azores Laurel Canary Laurel (L.) Bay Laurel Laurus is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. ...

The forests are made up of laurel-leaved evergreen hardwood trees, reaching up to 40 meters in height. Many of the species are endemic to the islands, and harbor a rich biota of understory plants, invertebrates, and birds and bats, including a number of endemic species. A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or one of various ways of being not native (e. ... Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a forest which grows in the shade of the overstory or canopy. ... Invertebrate is a term coined by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck to describe any animal without a spinal column. ... Jump to: navigation, search Orders Many - see section below. ... Jump to: navigation, search Families Antrozoidae Craseonycteridae Emballonuridae Furipteridae Megadermatidae Molossidae Mormoopidae Mystacinidae Myzopodidae Natalidae Noctilionidae Nycteridae Phyllostomidae Pteropodidae Rhinolophidae Rhinopomatidae Thyropteridae Vespertilionidae Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera with forelimbs developed as wings. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or one of various ways of being not native (e. ... Jump to: navigation, search In biology, the most commonly used definition of species was first coined by Ernst Mayr. ...

Two species of reptile, Gallotia gomerana (Gomeran lizard) and Chalcides viridanus (Gomeran skink), can be found. Amphibians include the stripeless tree frog, Hyla meridionalis. In terms of avian life, the Laurel Pigeon (Columba junoniae) and Trocaz Pigeon (Columba trocaz) can be found here. Binomial name Columba junoniae (Hartert, 1916) The Laurel Pigeon (Columba junoniae) is a member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons, which is endemic to the Canary Islands. ... Binomial name Columba trocaz (Heineken, 1829) The Trocaz Pigeon (Columba trocaz) is a member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons which is endemic to Madeira. ...

Gara and Jonay

Two tourists standing next to the park's wooden statues of Gara and Jonay

The peak and park are named after the doomed Guanche lovers Gara and Jonay, whose story evokes those of Romeo and Juliet and Hero and Leander. Gara was a princess of Agulo on La Gomera. During the festival of Beñesmén, it was the custom of unmarried girls of Agulo to gaze at their reflections in the waters of Chorros del Epina. If the water was clear, they find would a husband; if muddy, some misfortune would befall them. When Gara looked at the water, she saw her reflection clearly. However, she gazed too long and the sun's reflection blinded her temporarily. A wise man named Gerián told her that this meant that she needed to avoid all fire or it would consume her. Guanches (also: Guanchis or Guanchos) were the aboriginal inhabitants of the Canary Islands, now extinct. ... Jump to: navigation, search Romeo and Juliet is a famous play by William Shakespeare concerning the fate of two young lovers. ... Hero and Leander is a Greek myth. ...

Jonay was the son of the mencey or king of Adeje on Tenerife who arrived on the island to celebrate these ceremonies. Jonay's participation in the ensuing games attracted the attention of Gara, and the two fell in love. Unfortunately, when the engagement was announced, the volcano Teide, visible from La Gomera, began to erupt as if in disapproval. This was interpreted as a bad sign and the couple’s respective parents broke the engagement. Jonay was made to return to Tenerife, but one night, he swam across the channel that separated the two islands and rejoined his beloved. Their respective fathers ordered that the two be found. The lovers were soon trapped on a mountain, where they decided to take their own lives.[1] Jump to: navigation, search Flag of Tenerife Tenerife (English also Teneriffe), a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. ... Teide (Mount Teide or Pico de Teide) is a volcano and mountain on Tenerife, Canary Islands (28. ...