Gouraya National Park
History
The park became an Algerian National Park in 1984, and has been UNESCO-recognized as a biosphere reserve in 2004.
Description
The park owes its name to the Gouraya Mountain (altitude 660m) located within the park's boundaries. The ground elevation in the park oscillates between -135m and 660m. There is also a lake, the Lake Mézaïa.
The park is located on a calcaro-dolomitic ground.
The park is north-east of Béjaïa, close to the city. The park includes many beaches and cliffs, which make it a swimming destination for many Algerians.
Population
The permanent population in the Gouraya National Park is of Berber origins, 1,655 inhabitants across 13 villages.
Wildlife
The park is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including Barbary macaques and jackals who live in the park's forests. The Barbary macaque is a primate with a very restricted range in portions of northwestern North Africa and disjunctively in Gibraltar.
In 2011, the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique led a phytosociological study which concluded there were 7 vegetation groups belonging to 4 phytosociological classes:
- Quercetea ilicis Braun-Blanquet (1947)
- Querco-Fagetea Braun-Blanquet & Vlieg (1937)
- Crithmo-limonielea Braun-Blanquet (1947)
- Asplenietea rupestris (H.M) Braun-Blanquet (1934)
- Protected flora
- Tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides)
- Prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus)
- Endangered animals
- barbary apes (Maccaca sylvanus)
- Jackals (Canis aureus algeriensis)
- Wild cats (Felis silvestris)
- Algerian hedgehogs (Erinaceus algirus)
- Marine mammals of national importance
- Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
- Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)
- Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
- Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Gallery
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Yemma Gouraya, next to Béjaïa.
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The city of Bougie at the base of Yemma Gouraya mountain.
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Monkeys' peak (Pic des singes), above the Cap Carbon.
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Fort Gouraya, which culminates at 672m.
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Dead fish on the river Summam, probably from pesticide pollution due to heavy rains (2008).
References
- ^ Biosphere Reserve Information, Unesco.org, 3 April 2006
- ^ Gouraya National Park - Biodiversity at its Best, Algeria.com
- ^ K. Rebbas, Errol Véla, Approche phytosociologique du Parc National de Gouraya (Béjaïa, Algérie), Inra.fr, 2011