The cloud forest
From 800 meters above sea level, and up to some 2,500 meters, our mountain chains suffer condensation of atmospheric water that, in the form of clouds, almost constantly cover the mountaintops in a veil like fashion. The jungles in the summits and the sides of tropical mountains are constantly immersed in those cloud formations. During the rainy season, the cloudy condition prevails in the cold mornings and afternoons. During the sunniest hours, the clouds are dissipated to show the glowing greenery of the mountain. At such heights the overall mean temperature of 19 degrees Celsius is almost perfect. In the cloud forest you don't feel the extreme heat characteristic of the tropical jungles, neither the extreme cold of the high summits of the Andes. A great diversity of plant and animal species grows in such a cozy environment. In the midst of the dominant greenery of the jungle, colorful jewels are found everywhere, in the form of flowers, insects, frogs and birds. As the water droplets that form the clouds invade all the spaces of the forest, plants can grow everywhere: from the lower ground level to the last branch of the gigantic tree whose canopy forms the ceiling of the jungle. |
