Laguna de la Restinga

Laguna de la Restinga is a national park on the Isla Margarita, Nueva Esparta state, Venezuela. The main part of the park is a large salt lagoon, rich in fish and birdlife. It is on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance, and is classified as an Important Bird Area.LocationThe park lies between the eastern part of Margarita island and the Macanao Peninsula, which are connected only by a thin bar, or strip of land. The bar stretches more than from La Guardia on the main island to Punta Tigre on the peninsula. The park was created by government decree on 6 February 1974, and initially covered an area of. It features a saline lagoon fringed by mangroves and holding large mangrove islands, with of channels. The shallow lagoon is separated from the sea to the north by a bar of sand and sea shells. To the south a broad channel connects the lagoon with the sea. The west coast is rocky, with cliffs and small beaches. The climate is arid or semi-arid, with mean annual temperature of and mean annual precipitation of 300to.FloraThe park is in Venezuelan Dry Forest biogeographical province. Inside the lagoon there are mangrove forests covering containing red mangrove, black mangrove and of white mangrove. The sandbar has buttonwood mangrove and various types of grass. The land surrounding the saltwater is covered by xerophytes. The semi-desert tropical climate supports thornwood and shrub forest.