Parque Municipal Summit

Coordinates: 9°03′58″N 79°38′44″W / 9.066161°N 79.6455574°W / 9.066161; -79.6455574
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Harpy eagle at the Municipal Park Summit

The Parque Municipal Summit (Summit Municipal Park) is a

Soberania National Park, less than an hour's drive from Panama City, at about kilometer 18 on the road leading to Gamboa.[1]

History

The park was created in 1923 by the former company of the Panama Canal, as the Experimental Farm Summit, to test the adaptation of plants’ species from different parts of the world to the tropical climate of Panama. It was through this experimental farm that teak was introduced to the American continent.[1]

In the 1960s a small zoo was started within the Botanical Garden. The zoo has increased gradually, and today is home to about 300 animals. One of the attractions of the zoo is the harpy eagle; the national bird of Panama.

The land was transferred back to Panama as part the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, and was part of the Soberanía National Park created by Executive Decree No. 13 on May 27, 1980.[2][3] In 1985, the area covered by this park was transferred to the administration of the Mayor’s office of Panama, thus establishing the Municipal Park and part of the restructured area into a Botanical Garden, converting it into a research center for development of tropical biology and horticulture.[2]

Plants

The botanical garden includes a representation of plant species from tropical and subtropical countries around the world as well as native species of Panama. Many of them have beneficial uses for humans as food, medicines, construction materials, or ornamental use.

Animals

Animals at the zoo include

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Parque Municipal Summit". municipio.gob.pa. Municipality of Panama. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Summit: exuberance of flora and fauna". critica.com.pa. Critica-EPASA. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Parque Nacional Soberania". anam.gob.pa. Parque Nacional Soberania. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2011.

External links

9°03′58″N 79°38′44″W / 9.066161°N 79.6455574°W / 9.066161; -79.6455574