Lago Peñuelas National Reserve is a national reserve 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 ...

.World Database on Protected Areas
The reserve was created around

Peñuelas Lake Peñuelas Lake is a reservoir in Valparaíso Region, Chile. It supplies drinking water, together with another lake called Los Aromos, to Valparaíso, Chile, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. The reservoir and the surrounding area are protected within ...

, a freshwater reservoir that provides drinking water to

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

. The park, which is located in the

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region ( es, Región de Valparaíso, links=no, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , ...

of Chile, was declared a protected area in the year 1952 in order to protect the drainage of the Peñuelas

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

and

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

, built at the end of the 19th and beginning of the Twentieth century. The park, along with

La Campana National Park La Campana National Park is located in the Cordillera de la Costa, Quillota Province, in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains lie northwest of Santiago. This national park covers approximately and ...

to its north, was designated Campana-Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1984. The park covers an area of 9,260 hectares (35.7 square miles) and is traversed by about 12 km of

Chile Route 68 Chile Route 68 (Ruta 68) is a highway in central Chile. It runs from Santiago to Valparaíso. Route description It begins at the western terminus of Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins. In its first kilometers the highway is straigh ...

, which is the main highway between

and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. Its elevation ranges between 337 and 613 metres

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

National System of Protected Wild Areas of the State

In Chile there is the National System of Protected Wild Areas of the State (SNASPE), which includes three categories: National Parks, National Reserves and Natural Monuments. Currently the Lago Penuelas National Reserve is under this protection. This unit, together with the La Campana National Park, constitute a Biosphere Reserve for studying the flora of this area. The study has recorded approximately 150 species of native species, a rich flora compared with other native forests in the zone are also recorded. In addition 14 of 300 (total) are conservation issues (2 endangered, 11 vulnerable, and 1 insufficiently known).

Flora and fauna

The flora of the reserve includes mixed forest,

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

scrub, and deciduous forest and thorny scrub. Exotic tree species are planted in the reserve, including ''

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of tall, evergreen tree endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has mostly smooth bark, juvenile leaves that are whitish and waxy on ...

'' and ''

Pinus radiata ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the fa ...

''. A total of 120 bird species have been recorded in the reserve. ''

Leopardus colocolo The Pampas cat (''Leopardus colocola'') is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future. It is named after ...

'', ''

Galictis cuja The lesser grison (''Galictis cuja'') is a species of mustelid from South America. Description Lesser grisons have a long, slender body, short legs, and a bushy tail. They have a long neck and a small head with a flattened forehead and rounded ea ...

'', ''

Conepatus chinga Molina's hog-nosed skunk, also called the Andes skunk (''Conepatus chinga''), is a skunk species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay, at elevations up to 5000 m. Habitat The Molina's ...

'', ''

Lycalopex culpaeus The culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), also known as culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf,Comparative ecology of two South American foxes, 'Dusicvon ariseus' and 'culpaeus' by Warren E. Johnson. Doctoral dissertation. Io ...

'' and ''

Lycalopex griseus The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America. Description The South A ...

'' are mammal species that can be found here.

Climate of the reserve

The climate of this area is Mediterranean typical with maritime influence. The temperature varies because of the influence of the sea, the annual temperatures are between 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) and 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit). There is occasional precipitation with the highest amount in winter and beginning at the end of autumn and extending until August. 80% of the rain is recorded between May and August.

References

External links

Official Lago Peñelas National Reserve website
National reserves of Chile Protected areas of Valparaíso Region {{Valparaíso-geo-stub