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Pitons Management Area
Site number:
1161
Type of site: Natural
Date: -
Date of Inscription: 2004
Location: South America, Caribbean, Saint Lucia, near the town of Soufriere, southwestern region of St Lucia
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Description: The 2,909-ha Pitons Management Area near the town of Soufriere encompasses two volcanic spires, the Pitons, rising alongside each other from the sea (770-m and 743-m in height), connected by the Piton Mitan ridge. The volcanic complex consists of a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. Almost 60% of the site’s marine area is covered by coral reefs. Investigations have discovered 168 finfish species, 60 species of cnidaria, counting corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. Inshore one can find Hawksbill turtles, and whale sharks and pilot whales - offshore. The principal terrestrial flora is tropical humid forest grading to subtropical wet forest with minute quarters of dry forest and the summits see wet elfin woodland. On Gros Piton at least 148 plant species have been documented, 97 on Petit Piton and the superseding ridge, amongst them eight uncommon tree species. The Pitons house about 27 bird species (five endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available.
  The Pitons are two volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 770 m, and the Petit Piton is 743 m high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The Pitons are located near the towns of Soufriere and Choiseul on the southwestern coast of the island. Saint Lucia's local brand of beer was also named after these two mountains. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1161
Reference: 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page.
 
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