Puñihuil is a cove with a small community on the northwestern coast of the Isla Grande de Chiloe, which lies near the coast of Northern Patagonia in

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 ...

. The

Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument is a Chilean Natural Monument located southwest of Ancud. It consists of three islets off the western coast of Chiloé Island to the west and north of Puñihuil. The monument is notable for being the only kn ...

, three small islands, lie to the west and north of the cove. The monument is the only known shared breeding site for Humboldt and Magellanic penguins. It is also a breeding area for other species including the

red-legged cormorant The red-legged cormorant (''Poikilocarbo gaimardi''), also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant,Nelson, J. B. 2005. Cormorants and shags. Pages 512–14. In C. M. Perrins, W. ...

and kelp gull. The

Alfaguara project The Alfaguara project is a marine life conservation project operated from Puñihuil in the northwest of Chiloé Island, the main island in the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile. "Alfaguara" was the name given to blue whales by Chilean whaler ...

, a

marine life conservation The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas is an agreement that was designed to solve through international cooperation the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, consideri ...

project operates from Puñihuil. The focus of the project is on preservation of endangered

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

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for which the waters to the northwest are an important feeding area.

Gallery

File:PLaya Puñihuil.png, Beach of Puñihuil, islands in the background File:Islotes de Puñihuil.jpg, Islotes de Puñihuil File:Islote Puñihuil III.png, Islotes de Puñihuil III File:Pinguineras Islote 1 Puñihuil.png, Penguins on the Islotes de Puñihuil File:Chungungo Chiloe.jpg, Marine otter near Puñihuil File:Piedra del Oso Puñihuil.png, "The Bear´s Rock", a natural rock formation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punihuil Landforms of Los Lagos Region Bays of Chile Coves Marine conservation