Park Service highlights Hispanic heritage

Department of Interior

The National Park Service has launched a new Web site to honor the importance of Hispanic Heritage Parks throughout the country.

Titled "Hispanic Heritage Parks: An Iberian Project," the new site was made available Friday as part of an initiative dedicated to several parks with Iberian or Spanish heritage.

"We are proud of the rich Hispanic heritage that exists in parks throughout our country," said National Park Service Director Fran Mainella. "From Puerto Rico to Alaska, many of these parks have a direct connection to the Iberian Peninsula."

The National Park Service, a branch of the Interior Department, lists 16 national park units of Iberian or Spanish heritage, including historic sites in Puerto Rico.

The new Web site includes access to a virtual electronic tour of all parks in the national system of Hispanic heritage. Visitors can receive the tour in English or Spanish through the National Park Service's main Web site, www.nps.gov.

The Iberian Peninsula consists of Portugal and Spain, and is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The Strait of Gibraltar separates the Iberian Peninsula in the south from northern Africa.