Queulat National Park is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

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 eas ...

located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River on the south side and is neighbor to

Lago Rosselot National Reserve Lago Rosselot National Reserve is a nature reserve located immediately north of Queulat National Park and east of the Carretera Austral, in Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ...

. It contains of glacier-capped mountains and virgin evergreen forests.

History

In 1766, the Jesuit Father José García Alsue explored the area searching for the

City of the Caesars The City of the Caesars (Spanish Ciudad de los Césares), also variously known as ''City of Patagonia'', ''the Wandering City'', ''Trapalanda'' or ''Trapananda'', ''Lin Lin'' or ''Elelín'', is a mythical city of South America. It was supposedly ...

Park geography

Local relief is dominated by the

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

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 ...

, with some elevations greater than above sea level. A portion of the Puyuhuapi Volcanic Group form part of the park, specifically the area south of the Lake Risopatrón. The park comprises two small

ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

s, with glaciers of up to long. The largest glaciated area is Queulat ice cap, which encompasses about and contains the park's centerpiece, the Queulat Hanging Glacier. This ice cap is centered at , and is at an elevation of . The other ice cap covers an area of approximately and is centered at an unnamed summit at , at an elevation of . The main ice cap borders the northernmost part of the Puyuhuapi Channel called Ventisquero Sound. Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante, a large waterfall, is located in the park. As the meltwaters of the eponymous glacier proceed into the Témpanos River, they fall down the waterfall's single vertical drop. Other attractions in the park are the Queulat Sound, Father García and The Cóndor Falls, and Cat's Stone (''Piedra del Gato'').

Flora

A characteristic feature of this park is the presence of

Valdivian temperate rain forests The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainfor ...

. Various portions of the park receive up to of precipitation annually. In this wet environment typical trees include coihue and tepa. The

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

vegetation consists of species such as tepú, quila, chilco and nalca (a plant with enormous leaves). At higher elevations, the forests are dominated by coigüe de Magallanes and lenga. The Carretera Austral runs through the middle of the park and includes a stretch of

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal ha ...

s (''Cuesta Queulat''), along which can be observed altitudinal zones of vegetation in the park.

Fauna

In the southern portion of the park (Queulat

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

), wildlife includes mammals 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 ...

kodkod The kodkod (''Leopardus guigna'') (), also called guiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Since 2002, it has been liste ...

, and a variety of birds species including

chucao tapaculo The chucao tapaculo (''Scelorchilus rubecula'') is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is found in central Chile and adjacent Argentina; it has also been recorded in Chile's Magallanes Province.Cárcamo, J. ''et al.'' (2008) Fi ...

, Chilean pigeon,

Magellanic woodpecker The Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus'') is a very large woodpecker found in southern Chile and southwestern Argentina; it is resident within its range. This species is the southernmost example of the genus '' Campephilus'', which ...

black-throated huet-huet The black-throated huet-huet , (''Pteroptochos tarnii'') is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae.Chesser, R.T. (1999) Molecular systematics of the rhinocryptid genus ''Pteroptochos''. ''The Condor'' 101:439-446. It is found in souther ...

and thorn-tailed rayadito. The northern sections of the park are home to nearshore wildlife including semi-aquatic mammals as are

southern river otter The southern river otter (''Lontra provocax'') is a species of otter that lives in Chile and Argentina. Although called a "river otter", it inhabits both marine and freshwater environments. It sometimes is considered a subspecies of '' Lontra can ...

and

coypu The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

. Birds found in this area include Magellan goose, Chiloe wigeon, yellow-billed pintail,

red shoveler The red shoveler (''Spatula platalea'') is a species of dabbling duck native to southern South America. Description The species has a spatula-shaped bill, a green speculum, and light blue upper wing converts. Male shovelers vary in color from ...

, flying steamer duck,

rosy-billed pochard The rosy-billed pochard (''Netta peposaca''), alternatively named rosybill or rosybill pochard, is a member of family Anatidae. Though classified as a diving duck, this pochard feeds more like a dabbling duck feeding on seeds roots, sedges, aqua ...

red-gartered coot The red-gartered coot (''Fulica armillata'') is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) H ...

ringed kingfisher The ringed kingfisher (''Megaceryle torquata'') is a large, conspicuous and noisy kingfisher bird commonly found along the lower Rio Grande valley in southeasternmost Texas in the United States through Central America to Tierra del Fuego in Sout ...

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, an ...

cocoi heron The cocoi heron (''Ardea cocoi'') is a species of long-legged wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae found across South America. It has predominantly pale grey plumage with a darker grey crest. A carnivore, it hunts fish and crustaceans in sha ...

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

, torrent duck,

sedge wren The sedge wren (''Cistothorus stellaris'') is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and se ...

Chilean flicker The Chilean flicker (''Colaptes pitius'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile. Taxonomy and systematics The Chilean flicker was originally described as ''Picus Pitius ...

and black-necked swan.

References

External links

CONAF: Parque Nacional Queulat
{{authority control Protected areas of Aysén Region National parks of Chile Protected areas established in 1983 Valdivian temperate forests