Editing Geography of Puerto Rico (section)

==Physical geography==
The archipelago of Puerto Rico is located between the [[Caribbean Sea]] and the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic Ocean]], east of the [[Hispaniola]] and west of the [[Virgin Islands]]. Located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico was key to the [[Spanish Empire]] since the early years of exploration, conquest and colonization of the [[Americas|New World]].

[[File:Puerto Rico geography.gif|thumb|left|275x275px|General [[Physical geography|physiographic]] map of Puerto Rico, with [[Mountain|mountainous]] terrain in green, [[karst]] in orange, and [[Coastal plain|plains]] in yellow ]]

The [[topography]] of the main island is divided into three major regions: the mountainous region, which includes the [[Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)|Cordillera Central]], the [[Sierra de Luquillo]], and the [[Sierra de Cayey]]; the coastal plains; and the northern [[Karst topography|karst]] region. The ''Cordillera Central'' extends through the entire island, dividing it into the northern and southern regions. The mountain region accounts for approximately 60% <!--check this fact--> of the land area.

The archipelago of [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]], located east of Puerto Rico, north of [[Vieques]], and west of the Virgin Islands, is composed of the island of Culebra and 28 uninhabited islets.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lat-long.com/Lookup.cfm?Name=&State=PR&County=Culebra&FeatureType=island&Submit=Lat-Long+Search|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170910/http://www.lat-long.com/Lookup.cfm?Name=&State=PR&County=Culebra&FeatureType=island&Submit=Lat-Long+Search|archive-date= March 3, 2016|title=ISLAND, county CULEBRA, state PR| access-date = July 13, 2006|publisher=Lat-Long.com }}</ref> Mainly mountainous, the island of Culebra possesses world-renowned beaches.

===Climate===
{{Main article|Climate of Puerto Rico}}

Located in the tropics, Puerto Rico enjoys an average temperature of {{convert|81|°F|°C|sigfig=2}} throughout the year. The seasons do not change very drastically. The temperature in the south is usually a few degrees higher than the north and temperatures in the central interior mountains are always cooler than the rest of the island. The highest temperature record was in the municipality of [[San German]] with {{convert|105|°F|sigfig=3}} and the minimum registration is {{convert|39|°F|sigfig=2}} in [[Aibonito]]. The [[dry season]] spans from December to April while the [[wet season]] coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season from May to November.

===Rivers and lakes===
[[File:Río Piedras Watershed » Sub-watersheds.jpg|thumb|175px|Map of the [[Piedras River (San Juan, Puerto Rico)|Río Piedras]] [[Drainage basin|watershed]], also known as the San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed (2015), and ends in the [[San Juan Bay]]]]

Puerto Rico has lakes (none of them natural)<ref>[http://www.gobierno.pr/DRNA/ReservasNaturales/LagosRiosLagunas/Lagos/Lagos_I.htm Los Lagos de Puerto Rico] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041225032628/http://www.gobierno.pr/DRNA/ReservasNaturales/LagosRiosLagunas/Lagos/Lagos_I.htm |date=December 25, 2004 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref> and more than [[List of Puerto Rico rivers|50 rivers]]. Most of these rivers are born in the ''Cordillera Central'', Puerto Rico's principal mountain range located across the center of the island. The rivers in the north of the island are bigger and with higher flow capacity than those of the south. The south is thus drier and hotter than the north. These rivers make up 60 [[Drainage basin|watersheds]] throughout the island, where over 95% of the runoff goes back to sea. With a length of length of approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi) [[Río de la Plata (Puerto Rico)|La Plata River]] is the longest,<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=La Plata River |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/La-Plata-River |access-date=24 February 2019 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref><ref name="GNIS">{{Gnis|1612412}}</ref> while [[Río Grande de Loíza|Loíza]] is the largest by discharge volume with a hydrological basin of {{convert|289.9|sqmi|order=flip}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources |title=Cuenca del Río Grande de Loíza |url=http://drna.pr.gov/historico/oficinas/saux/secretaria-auxiliar-de-planificacion-integral/planagua/inventario-recursos-de-agua/cuencas-hidrograficas/Cuenca%20del%20Rio%20Grande%20de%20Loiza.pdf |access-date=2021-09-21 |website=drna.pr.gov}}</ref><ref name="DRNA_rivers">{{cite magazine |date=February 1, 2007 |title=Los Ríos |url=http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/13-LOS-RIOS-T.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401205148/http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/13-LOS%20RIOS%20T..pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2012 |access-date=February 22, 2019 |magazine=Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente |publisher=DRNA |location=Puerto Rico}}</ref>

===Flora and fauna===
{{Main article|Fauna of Puerto Rico|List of endemic flora of Puerto Rico}}
[[File:Puerto Rico ecosystems map-en.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|left|Map of the ecosystems of Puerto Rico]]

As of 1998,<ref>[http://islands.unep.ch/ISV.htm#459 Island Directory].</ref> 239 plants, 16 birds and 39 [[amphibian]]s/reptiles have been discovered that are [[Endemism|endemic]] to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The majority of these (234, 12 and 33 respectively) are found on the main island. The most recognizable endemic species and a symbol of Puerto Rican pride are the coquis (''[[Eleutherodactylus]]'' spp.), small frogs easily recognized by the sound from which they get their name. [[El Yunque National Forest]], a [[Puerto Rican moist forests|tropical rainforest]], is home to the majority (13 of 16) of species of coqui. It is also home to more than 240 plants, 26 of which are endemic, and 50 bird species, including the [[critically endangered]] [[Puerto Rican amazon]] (''Amazona vittata'').

===Forests===
{{Main articles|El Yunque National Forest|List of Puerto Rico state forests}}
Forests of Puerto Rico are well represented by the flora of the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), a [[Long Term Ecological Research Network]] site managed by the [[United States Forest Service]] and [[University of Puerto Rico]]. At this site, there are four main life zones, delineated on the basis of temperature and precipitation (Holdridge System), in the [[Sierra de Luquillo]]: subtropical wet and subtropical rain forests are found at low and mid elevations, lower montane rain and lower montane wet forests at high elevations. There is also an area of subtropical moist forest at low elevations on the southwest slope.

Tabonuco forest, so named for the dominant tabonuco tree (''[[Dacryodes excelsa]]''), covers lower slopes to about {{convert|2000|ft|m|abbr=on}}. In well-developed stands the larger trees exceed {{convert|98|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height, there is a fairly continuous [[Canopy (biology)|canopy]] at {{convert|66|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and the shaded [[understory]] is moderately dense. Tabonuco trees are especially large on ridges, where they are firmly rooted in the rocky substrate and connected by root grafts with each other. There are about 168 tree species in the tabonuco forest.

The palo Colorado forest, named for the large ''palo colorado'' tree (''[[Cyrilla]] racemiflora''), begins above the tabonuco forest and extends up to about {{convert|3000|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Its canopy reaches only about {{convert|49|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Soils are saturated and root mats above the soil are common. There are some 53 tree species in this forest type. At this same elevation, but in especially steep and wet areas, is palm forest, heavily dominated by the sierra palm tree (''[[Prestoea montana]]''). Patches of palm forest are also found in saturated [[Riparian zone|riparian areas]] in the tabonuco forest. The palm forest reaches about 15 m in height.

At the highest elevations is [[Elfin forest|dwarf forest]], a dense forest as short as {{convert|9.8|ft|m|abbr=on}}, on saturated soils. Here the trees are covered with [[Epiphyte|epiphytic]] [[moss]]es and vascular plants, especially [[bromeliad]]s, and these also cover large areas of the ground. Ascending the Luquillo mountains through these forest types, the average tree height and diameter, number of tree species, and basal area (cross sectional area of tree stems) tend to decrease, while stem density increases.

There are more than 89 tree species in the LEF. The most common are ''Prestoea acuminata'', ''[[Casearia arborea]]'', ''Dacryodes excelsa'', ''[[Manilkara bidentata]]'', ''[[Inga laurina]]'', and ''[[Sloanea berteroana]]''. Common shrub species are ''[[Palicourea croceoides]]'', ''[[Psychotria berteriana]]'', and ''[[Piper glabrescens]]''. Grasses, [[fern]]s, and [[forb]]s are frequent on the ground, especially in canopy gaps; epiphytes are fairly common, and vines are uncommon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lternet.edu/sites/luq/fulldescription.php?site=LUQ |title=Luquillo LTER – LUQ Description |publisher=Long Term Ecological Research Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527174310/http://www.lternet.edu/sites/luq/fulldescription.php?site=LUQ |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}</ref>

[[Puerto Rican dry forests]] are dominated by plants in the families [[Rubiaceae]], [[Euphorbiaceae]], and [[Myrtaceae]]. In this regard they are similar to [[Jamaican dry forests]], but differ sharply from dry forests on the mainland of [[South America|South]] and Central America, which are dominated by [[Fabaceae]] and [[Bignoniaceae]].<ref>Gentry, A.H. (1995) Diversity and floristic composition of neotropical dry forests. pp.&nbsp;146–194 in S.H. Bullock, H.A. Mooney and E. Medina (editors) Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.</ref>

Mario Javier Fernandez-Vega is a Puerto Rican forester who uses [[Silviculture|silvicultural]] techniques. Fernandez is currently developing cutting edge forestry methods known as the "Borincano Model". The model capitalizes on the diversity of ecological niches in Puerto Rican forests and native disturbance regimes to formulate practices uniquely suited to the forests of the archipelago. About his model Fernandez has been known to comment, "''Soy de aquí como el coquí''" (I am from here just like the coqui), a common patriotic axiom that is used to demonstrate their native ties to the island. The [[Coquí|coqui]] and its unique vocalizations are indigenous to the island of Puerto Rico. However, there are thriving populations of coquis that, like the people of Puerto Rico, have been transported to [[Hawaii]]. The coqui is viewed as an ecological menace in Hawaii where its song of ''co kee co kee'' is found to be an irritant by many. Needless to say that efforts to eradicate its presence in Hawaii is not a popular issue among Puerto Ricans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-coqui-frog-hawaii-20141228-story.html|title=Tiny coqui frog becomes a big problem in Hawaii|first=Los Angeles|last=Times|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 28, 2014 }}</ref>