El Yunque National Forest (L)

Impressions from the Rainforest.

I took a tour to El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system. The forest has an average temperature of 73° F, and seasonal changes are almost imperceptible. It is the ideal climate for exuberant tropical vegetation. The rain forest is noted for its biodiversity; it is “home” to thousands of native plants including 150 fern species, 240 tree species (88 of these are endemic or rare and 23 are exclusively found in this forest). The El Yunque National Forest has no large wildlife species, but hundreds of smaller animals abound here, many of which exist nowhere else on the planet.