Kütralkura (, from

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

''kütral'', fire, and ''kura'', stone, meaning "firestone") is a

geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which Sustainability, sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant s ...

in southern Chile's

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...

. The geopark has an area of 8100 km² and lies mostly in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. It spans four communes:

Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a Communes of Chile, commune and List of cities in Chile, city in the Chilean province of Malleco Province, Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley ...

Lonquimay Lonquimay is a town and commune in the Malleco Province of southern Chile's Araucanía Region. Transport It is the terminus of an abandoned broad gauge railway project which supporters cited as the most practical railway route through the A ...

Melipeuco Melipeuco () is a town and commune () in Chile, located at the foot of the Andes, in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region. Melipeuco is from the southern entrance of the Conguillío National Park. The Nevados de Sollipulli, an ice-filled ...

and

Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. ...

. All of Conguillio National Park and

Llaima The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km East of Temuco and 663 km South of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park. Geography The top of Llaima consists of tw ...

, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, lie within the geopark. By May 17, 2018, Kütralkura was being considered for inclusion in the

Global Geoparks Network UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...

. The inclusion in the network was confirmed and accepted on April 17, 2019, by UNESCO's executive board. The original geopark project was carried out and supported by the

National Geology and Mining Service 250px, Sernageomin building in Providencia, Santiago. The National Geology and Mining Service (; SERNAGEOMIN) is a Chilean government agency. Its function is to provide geological information and advice, technical assistance to government, public ...

and

CORFO The Production Development Corporation (CORFO, from ) is a Chilean governmental organization that was founded in 1939 by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to promote economic growth in Chile. Originally, CORFO was responsible for the creation of ...

. The work done at Kütralkura is being used as template for a similar initiative in

Palena Province Palena Province () is the southernmost administrative area in Chile's Los Lagos Region Los Lagos (X). The area is also called Continental Chiloe or Northern Patagonia, as geographers consider the Palena Province to be the starting point of Chilea ...

References

External links

Kütralkura