Bernardo O'Higgins National Park

Coordinates: 50°0′S 74°00′W / 50.000°S 74.000°W / -50.000; -74.000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bernardo O'Higgins National Park
Corporación Nacional Forestal

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park (Spanish pronunciation:

Alacalufes National Reserve to the southwest, and the Katalalixar National Reserve
to the northwest.

History

The earliest occupants of the area were the

Alacaluf
people.

In 1830, the then-Captain Phillip Parker King on board HMS Beagle visited the Eyre Fjord.[5]

In June 2007, it was announced that between March and May 2007 all the water within a glacial lake located within the park had disappeared, leaving behind a 100-foot-deep crater. Only some blocks of ice, previously floating on the lake, remained behind on the crater floor. In July 2007, scientists were able to draw the preliminary conclusion that the disappearance occurred as a result of climate change.[6]

In 2014 the natural sites

Pío XI Glacier were created as subdivitions of the natural park.[7]

Geography

The park is located approximately between 48° and 51° 38' South

Mount Balmaceda at 2,035 m (6,677 ft), beautified by the glaciers Balmaceda and Serrano
.

There are no large rivers on the park coast, but the narrow fjords penetrate deeply into the mountains and bring away the drainage of their ice-capped, storm-swept elevations.

Geology

Glaciers

Argentina/Chile border

The park includes a great part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. One of its main attractions is the Glacier Pío XI, from which enormous ice blocks periodically spall. The Pío XI glacier is the largest glacier in the southern hemisphere outside of Antarctica, covering an area of 1,265 km2 (488 sq mi), and has advanced over the past 50 years by more than 10 km (6 mi); one of its tongues measures approximately 6 km (4 mi). The ice face of the glacier is approximately 75 m (246 ft) in height (about 30 floors of a conventional building) and the falling ice generates waves exceeding 10 m (33 ft) in height; significant enough to rock larger vessels. Other outlet glaciers are Chico, O'Higgins, Jorge Montt, Bernardo, Témpano, Occidental, Greve, Penguin and Amalia.[5]

Biology

The area of the park corresponds to the Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregion. The forests are made up of several trees species, including Nothofagus betuloides, Nothofagus pumilio, Nothofagus antarctica and Drimys winteri.

The park is one of the last refuges for the

Chilean huemul. In this also can be found species such as Andean condor, marine otter and cormorant
.

Tourism

Because of its rugged geography and the remoteness of the area, the tourism in the park has been scarcely developed. It is only accessible by boat or helicopter. The glaciers located at the head of

is a popular activity in the park.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "National Parks of Chile". CONAF. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  2. National Forest Corporation (Chile)
    . 31 January 2017. p. 3. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Bernardo O'Higgins National Park". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Parque Nacional Bernardo O'Higgins". Corporacion Nacional Forestal. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b . Retrieved 2007-06-24.
  6. ^ NBC News: Climate Change Likely Culprit in Vanishing Lake
  7. ^ "RESOLUTION NOº:74/2014" (PDF) (in Spanish). Corporación Nacional Forestal. February 27, 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

External links