El Yunque
National Parks
​We had the chance to visit a national park and a national forest while in Puerto Rico. Brief descriptions are below as is a slideshow of our favorite photos.
El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System. It is located in northeast Puerto Rico and is a stunning wilderness area. It is also the site in Puerto Rico commemorated in the America the Beautiful quarters program from the US Mint.
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But the flora of El Yunque is not the only important aspect of the park; the fauna is, too. El Yunque has been the epicenter of the Puerto Rican parrot recovery program. It is also home to more than a dozen species of coquà tree frog, the unofficial national symbol of Puerto Rico.
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, or simply El Morro, was built by the Spanish to protect San Juan Bay. Construction began in 1539 and was completed in 1787. (No, that’s not a typo, it really took 250 years to complete construction.) When completed, the fort had six levels and walls that were over 15 feet thick in places.
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Despite repeated attacks by the English, the Dutch, even the United States, the defenses at El Morro still stand today. El Morro, its companion fort, San Cristóbal, and most of the wall surrounding Old San Juan can be visited today as part of the San Juan National Historic Site.
El Morro
Photo by J. Schlasner.
Communicating Culture
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University of Oklahoma
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Puerto Rico