Pitons

This article is about the Piton mountains. For the rock climbing tool, see Piton.
Pitons Management Area

Aerial view of The Pitons
Map showing the location of Pitons Management Area

Location in Saint Lucia

Location Southwestern Saint Lucia
Nearest city Soufrière and Choiseul
Coordinates 13°48′36″N 61°3′56″W / 13.81000°N 61.06556°W / 13.81000; -61.06556Coordinates: 13°48′36″N 61°3′56″W / 13.81000°N 61.06556°W / 13.81000; -61.06556
Type Natural
Criteria vii, viii
Designated 2004 (28th session)
Reference no. 1161
State Party Saint Lucia
Region Latin America and the Caribbean

The Pitons are two mountainous volcanic plugs, volcanic spires, located in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 771 metres (2,530 ft) high, and the Petit Piton is 743 metres (2,438 ft) high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The Pitons are a World Heritage Site 2,909 ha (7,190 acres) in size and located near the town of Soufrière.

Geography

The Pitons (Peaks in French) are located near the towns of Soufrière and Choiseul on the southwestern coast of the island. They are in the electoral districts of three and ten. The Pitons are located on either side of the Jalousie Bay.

Geology

The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. Coral reefs cover almost 60% of the site’s marine area. A survey has revealed 168 species of finfish, 60 species of cnidaria, including corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. The dominant terrestrial vegetation is tropical moist forest grading to subtropical wet forest, with small areas of dry forest and wet elfin woodland on the summits. At least 148 plant species have been recorded on Gros Piton, 97 on Petit Piton and the intervening ridge, among them eight rare tree species. The Gros Piton is home to some 27 bird species (five of them endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians.[1]

In popular culture

Saint Lucia's local brand of beer is named after the Pitons.[2]

See also

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1161
  2. ↑ http://pitonbeerstlucia.com/home.asp

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.