Yendegaia National Park is in

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

in the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region 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 ...

and contains of mountainous terrain and Valdivian temperate rain forest. It borders the Alberto de Agostini National Park and

Tierra del Fuego National Park Tierra del Fuego National Park () is a national park on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego, within Tierra del Fuego Province in the ecoregion of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest. Established ...

Origin

Yendegaia National Park is the result of public-private collaboration between the Government of Chile and the Yendegaia Foundation, a branch of the conservation project run by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

and

Kris Tompkins Kristine McDivitt Tompkins (born in 1950) is the president and co-founder oTompkins Conservation an American conservationist, former CEO of Patagonia, Inc.,Bicentennial of Chile The Bicentennial of Chile ( es, Bicentenario de Chile) took place on September 18, 2010. The celebration commemorates the beginning of the Independence process in Chile, with the first Government Junta of Chile on September 18, 1810, and Chile' ...

. It is made up of of state owned land and of the privately owned Estancia Yendegaia, which used to belong to the Tompkins' foundation of the same name, that gave the lands to the State of Chile in 2013 to create the National Park. Yendegaia's location on the border of Argentina's

has allowed the creation of an

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

trans-border park or "Peace Park".

Geography

The park is located south of the

Azopardo River The Azopardo River (Spanish: ''Río Azopardo''), is a river in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Chile at the southern tip of South America. It flows in a westerly direction and drains the waters of Fagnano Lake Fagnano Lake ( es, Lago Fagnano), a ...

and stretches from the Darwin Range to the Argentine border and from the Beagle Channel to Fagnago Lake. Yendegaia creates a contiguous ecological corridor between Chile's Alberto de Agostini National Park and Argentina's

. The landscape is composed of mountains, glaciers, lakes, canals, rivers and fjords.

Flora and fauna

The new park protects the last remaining sub-Antarctic beech forest, one of Earth's largest remnants of the

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

super continent dating back 180 million years ago. Other species that can be found in the park include Lenga ( Nothofagus pumilio), Canelo ( Drimys winteri) and Coigüe ( Nothofagus dombeyi). The area provides an important habitat for three species in danger of extinction (the

culpeo 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 ...

, the river otter, and the ruddy-headed geese), and a broad range of native flora and fauna, including 128

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

species and 49 bird species.

Administration and access

The park is administered by the Chilean

National Forest Corporation The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

(CONAF). The nearest urban area is the town of

Porvenir El Porvenir or Porvenir (Spanish: "The Future") may refer to: Places *Porvenir Municipality, Bolivia *Porvenir, Pando, Bolivia *Porvenir, Chile *Porvenir Volcano, Costa Rica *Porvenir, Texas, United States *El Porvenir Parish, Palanda Canton, Zamo ...

in Chile, although the Argentinian city of Ushuaia is also nearby. The park can be reached by sea from Puerto Williams, or by road along the Y-85 route south from Porvenir.

Trails

As the park was only founded in December 2013, official trails have not yet been created, but there are many non-official trails with various levels of difficulty starting from both the end of the Y-85 and from Fagnago Lake.Ex Yendegaia State routes
es.wikiloc.com, retrieved January 29, 2014

Weather

Classified as subpolar oceanic climate, the weather in this region is variable and often inhospitable with heavy rain and regularly overcast skies. In winter, from June to September, the temperature can drop to 11 °C below zero. In summer, temperatures occasionally reach 24 °C.

References

External links

Yendegaia National Park, Tomkins Conservation

Parque Nacional Yendegaia, Gob.cl

Yendegaia National Park on CONAF website
{{authority control Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile Protected areas established in 2013 National parks of Chile Protected areas of Magallanes Region Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego 2013 establishments in Chile 2013 in Chilean law Magellanic subpolar forests