Alerce Andino National Park is located in the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, in
Los Lagos Region
Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...
of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. This national park covers about 393 km
2. It is bounded by the
Reloncaví Estuary on its east and south sides, and by the
Reloncaví Sound
Reloncaví Sound or ''Seno de Reloncaví'' is a body of water immediately south of Puerto Montt, a port city in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. It is the place where the Chilean Central Valley meets the Pacific Ocean.
The Calbuco Archipelago comp ...
to the west (excluding a coastal fringe of a few km). To its north lies
Chapo Lake.
The park contains about 50
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s and natural
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
s.
Management of this and other national parks in Chile is entrusted to Corporacion Nacional Forestal, CONAF.
Flora
The centerpiece of this lush and mountainous protected area are the
Fitzroya
''Fitzroya'' is a monotypic genus in the cypress family. The single living species, ''Fitzroya cupressoides'', is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains and coastal of southern Chile, and only to the Andes mountains Argentina ...
cupressoides (locally known as ''Alerce'') forests, which consist of pure and mixed stands comprising a total surface of about 200 km
2.
Fauna
The park provides important habitat for species such as
pudú
The pudus (Mapudungun ''püdü'' or ''püdu'', es, pudú, ) are two species of South American deer from the genus ''Pudu'', and are the world's smallest deer. The chevrotains (mouse-deer; Tragulidae) are smaller, but they are not true deer. The ...
and
monito del monte
The monito del monte or colocolo opossum, ''Dromiciops gliroides'', also called ''chumaihuén'' in Mapudungun, is a diminutive marsupial native only to southwestern South America (Argentina and Chile). It is the only extant species in the ancient ...
.
Alerce_Andino_National_Park_Waterfall.jpg, Waterfall of the Chaicas river, Alerce Andino National Park
File:Alerce_Tree_in_Alerce_Andino_National_Park.jpg, Alerce (Fitzroya
''Fitzroya'' is a monotypic genus in the cypress family. The single living species, ''Fitzroya cupressoides'', is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains and coastal of southern Chile, and only to the Andes mountains Argentina ...
) tree in the park
File:Alerce_Andino_National_Park.jpg, Typical understory
References
Parque Nacional Alerce AndinoGreenpeace Chile
National parks of Chile
Protected areas of Los Lagos Region
Valdivian temperate forests
Protected areas established in 1982
1982 establishments in Chile
1982 in Chilean law
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