Information-Quick Facts
-Yuque means white lands
- There are 234 types of trees
-El Yunque receives 250 inches of rain a year
-11 rivers are in El Yunque and provide 25% of what we drink
-100 billion gallons of rain runs off the rain forest in a year
-There are 5 different types of snakes and 64 types of birds in El Yunque
-In El Yunque there are 4 zones, Tabonuco, Cloud, Palm de Sierra, and El Palo Colorado forests
The Tainos in El Yunque
The Tainos were the first people to inhabit Puerto Rico and El Yunque. The tainos called El Yunque Yuque which meant "white lands" because the mountains were covered with white clouds and it also meant sacred lands. In El Yunque many scientists found writings in rocks which are called petroglyphs which was gave them the clues that the tainos once lived in El Yunque. The Tainos thought of many gods. One was Juracan which was a god of everything bad. When bad storms destroyed many trees in El Yunque, the tainos would think that this was Juracan's doings. If everything was going well and good things happened they thought it was the doings of Yucahu, a god of everything bad.