The Fortuna Forest Reserve is located in the central region of the province of Chiriquí, on the western side of the country. This forest reserve was created to protect the hydrographic river basin of Lago Fortuna, an artificial lake used for the generation of electrical energy.

The reserve has an area of 19500 hectares and an altitude range of 1000 to 1500 meters. Annual precipitation is one of highest registered in the country, about 8000 mm per year.

The area is administered and protected by the electrical generation company, which offers facilities to scientists and has a cooperation aggrement with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. In this reserve, we can see species of trees like Alfaroa costaricensis of the Juglandaceae family whose species distribution is limited to the highlands.

 

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