Introduction
to the
Páramo Ecosystem
Checklist
of Páramo
Plants
Lichens
Mosses
Hepatics
Vascular
plants
Gazetteer
of Páramo
Localities
Costa
Rica & Panama
Colombia
Venezuela
Ecuador
Peru
GAZETTEER OF PARAMO LOCALITIES
The following list of páramo localities
(gazetteer) is organized first by country. Within each country (listed
from North to South, except Costa Rica and Panama which are given together),
the locality names are given in strict alphabetical order ommitting all
Spanish articles such as El, La, Las, Los. The articles are given
after the proper name, and when placed within parentheses their use is
optional or varies. Localities with the same name are then designated
as (1), (2), etc. The most commonly used name is detailed, while
lesser used names are cross-referenced to the primary name. The highest
known altitude is given next, followed by latitude and longitude (rounded
off to the nearest minute). The next two headings are called DIV
1 (i.e., primary political divisions such as department in Colombia and
Peru, state in Venezuela, or province in Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador)
and DIV 2 (i.e., secondary political divisions such as municipality in
Colombia, district in Venezuela, canton in Costa Rica and Ecuador, or province
in Peru), when these are known (DIV 2 was not used at all for Ecuador).
If the páramo locality covers two or more political divisions within
DIV 1, these divisions are separated by a slash (/). If the páramo
locality covers two (or more) political divisions within DIV 2, the DIV
2
divisions are separated by an ampersand (&) and the DIV 1 by a slash
(/). [Example 1: in Colombia, Cerro Agua Blanca overlaps the
Municipality Puracé of the Departament Cauca and the Municipality
La Argentina of the Department Huila; therefore, DIV 1 reads Cauca/Huila
and DIV 2 reads Puracé/La Argentina. Example 2: in Colombia,
Cerro Animas overlaps the Municipalities of La Cruz and El Tablón
of the Department Nariño and the Municipality of Santa Rosa of the
Department Cauca; therefore, DIV 1 reads Nariño/Cauca and
DIV 2 reads La Cruz & El Tablón/Santa Rosa.] The last
entry "Notes" usually gives more details about the geographical location,
direction from a large or well-known city, connection with other nearby
páramos, other spellings for the primary name, cross-references
to other names, and comments.
The primary sources of locality information
for the páramo gazetteer (i.e., the names, altitudes, latitude and
longitude, reference points in "Notes", etc.) were individual country maps
(topographical, geopolitical, road maps, tourist maps, etc.), individual
country gazetteers, label data from herbarium specimens, and literature
references. The complete database includes detailed references for
each individual entry, which are not included in this book but are available
upon request. The main sources of data for each country are listed
at the end of this chapter; the general literature references cited
in the text are found in the bibliography at the end of the book.
It was not always easy to determine
the exact name, geographical position, or political division of a particular
páramo. In several cases, especially in older maps, elevations,
latitude/longitude readings, and sometimes DIV 2 names were different (for
the same páramo) on different maps. Therefore, it must be
remembered that some of the entries are approximate, although I have tried
to keep political divisions current. I have used only proper names
and not vague localities such as "shrub páramo between Loja and
Zamora." When a páramo name could not be located (on a map)
or confirmed (by literature or other sources), it is simply listed without
further comment and the entry is incomplete. Finally, in the "NOTES"
entry it was not always possible to give precise páramo localities
that included reference to a well-known city or cities found on all maps;
therefore, whenever possible, one or more cities are given in the entry
and these, used together with the geographical coordinates, should help
to pinpoint the locality in question. Undoubtedly there are many
more local names that I have missed, and I very much welcome additions
and corrections to the Gazetteer.
Bibliographic Sources for Locations of Páramos
GENERAL
Hanson, E. P. & N. Raymond (eds.). 1945. Index to maps
of Hispanic America. Maps of Hispanic America. 1:1,000,000.
American Geographical Society, Publication No. 5. United States
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.