Valle Nuevo National Park

Valle Nuevo National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo) (also known as Juan Bautista Perez Rancier National Park) is a protected area in the central region of the Dominican Republic, featuring a unique biodiversity in the Caribbean. Established in 1996, it is located on a plateau at over 2,200 meters (7,218 feet) in elevation, with its highest point being 2,842 meters (9,324 feet) at the extinct volcano Loma Alto de la Bandera. It is characterized by vegetation typical of the Nearctic ecozone. Valle Nuevo emerged after the glacier that once covered the Cordillera Central mountain range melted during the Last Glacial Maximum. When the Spanish arrived, the area was covered with shallow lakes, according to accounts by Spanish chronicler Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo.