Environmnet

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Where the South American tectonic plate meets the Caribbean plate, coastal mountain ranges and island arcs are pushed up.

Here the Caribbean island arc shears away from the coastal range, and the bending generates these particular landforms.

It is this sharp bend that forms the elbow shaped cape and determines the layout of fault-line valleys and surrounding hills.

A rare occurrence where flat emerging oceanfloor wetlands are only a few miles away from abrupt submerging landforms.

This gives the site its particular mix of suspended valleys, sheltering hills and open fault lines.

To form a mental picture of the terrain it is practical to look at the shadows cast by either the morning or the afternoon sun.

The life-producing dynamics of the site are best understood by looking at the interlocking branches of ridges and valleys.

Surface geology and climate determine the characteristics of the soil. Recent sediments inthe hollows and harder rock on the ridges.

Slope dictates the patterns of erosion and soil deposition. This determines biological potential and comfort zones for various species.

NE trade winds hit the cape in the summer. Warmer moister continental breezes from the SE wind their way around the hills in winter.

Water arrives as moisture in the wind, runs down the slope washing off some topsoil which is then circulated in the ocean currents.

The depressions in the suspended valley and by the shore catch the soils and form flatter areas which would best be used as parks.

In these depressions the biological potential is greatest, but human comfort is lessend by the greater moisture and reduced breeze.

The result is a rich and varied environment with many points of exceptional natural beauty.

The Puerto Frances Environmental; Physical Factors.