What's El Yunque?
What is El Yunque?
El Yunque (el yoon-kay) is the name of the National Rainforest located in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. It is THE ONLY tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest system, encompassing 28,000 acres of land.
3 Interesting Facts:
- El Yunque National Rainforest receives about 100 billion gallons of water EACH year!
- The forest reserve was initially set aside back in 1876 by King Alfonso XII of Spain and represents one of the oldest reserves in the Western Hemisphere.
- Because the water in El Yunque is constantly running down the mountain and it rains about four times a day preventing any standing water, there are no mosquitoes in the rainforest!
- The forest contains rare wildlife including the Puerto Rican parrot.
