El Leoncito National Park ( es, Parque Nacional El Leoncito) is a federal protected area in San Juan Province,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Established on 18 September 2002, it houses a representative sample of the Central Andean Puna and the

Southern Andean steppe The Southern Andean steppe is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion occurring along the border of Chile and Argentina in the high elevations of the southern Andes mountain range. Setting This ecoregion is found from in the north to in t ...

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

in good state of conservation, as well as historical and paleontological sites (including a portion of the Inca road system). It has an area of

Description

El Leoncito is located on the western slopes of the Sierra del Tontal in the

Calingasta Department Calingasta is a department of the province of San Juan (Argentina). It is the southwestern corner of the province, which is predominantly a landscape of mountains and rivers. It is characterized by its production of apples and by tourism, mainly in ...

, from

Barreal Barreal is a barrio in the municipality of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 272. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an ...

. The lack of atmospheric pollution in this isolated place and the dry weather guarantee at least 300 days of unmatched sky transparency per year, making it particularly suitable for astronomy research: within the park there are two

astronomical observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

: the

Leoncito Astronomical Complex The El Leoncito Astronomical Complex (Spanish: Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito - CASLEO) is an astronomical observatory in the San Juan Province of Argentina. CASLEO is one of two observatories located within El Leoncito National Park, which i ...

(CASLEO) and the

Félix Aguilar Observatory Félix Aguilar Observatory ( es, Observatorio Astronómico Félix Aguilar ; OAFA) is an astronomical observatory. It was established in 1953, in San Juan Province, Argentina. In 1974, it was renamed to Carlos Ulrrico Cesco Astronomical Station ( e ...

( above sea level) The area of the current national park lay within the jurisdiction of the aforementioned Leoncito Astronomical Complex, under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Safeguarding the atmospheric quality was a central concern for the astronomical center, which in turn required careful administration of the ecological environment. Thus in 1994 it was decided to place the area under management of the

National Parks Administration National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

as a strict

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. On 18 September 2002 it was further promoted to national park status with the enactment of national law 25656 after its territory was ceded by the San Juan Province to the federal state. The climate is cold, with permanent ice in the high Andean region. In the Puna the weather is cold and very dry with large temperature amplitude. Overall, the average annual rainfall is . The park has almost no infrastructure for tourists, so it is recommended to stock up before visiting. There is free camping with a stove, tables, grills, barbecue, toilets and hot showers. Besides visiting the astronomical observatories, there are trails to local water streams and waterfalls, most of them of low difficulty and short length. Acceso al Parque Nacional El Leoncito.jpg, Road access to the park. In the background, the Sierra del Tontal Cerro Mercedario desde el Leoncito, San Juan.jpg, Pampa del Leoncito and Cerro Mercedario in the background Observatorio El Leoncito, Calingasta.jpg,

at dawn PN El Leoncito.jpg, Astronomy research facilities Pampa del Leoncito en San Juan.JPG, Pampa del Leoncito

Biodiversity

The flora is mostly made up of shrubs, typical of dry mountainous areas. The fauna include important species like the

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

and birds of prey such as the peregrine falcon.

References

External links

Sitio oficial del Parque Nacional El Leoncito
{{authority control National parks of Argentina Protected areas of San Juan Province, Argentina Protected areas established in 1994 High Monte