Monte León National Park () is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Established on 20 October 2004, it houses a representative sample of the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

and

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

n coast

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

in good state of conservation, as well as several

paleontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

sites of high value. It runs along of the southern

Argentine Sea The Argentine Sea () is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the southern tip of South America. It ranges from the mouth of the estuary of the Río de la Plata in the north (35th parallel south) to the Isla de los Estados in the south, ...

coastline.

History

About 10,000–13,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer groups took advantage of the area's varied coastal environment, full of food resources. The

Tehuelche people The Tehuelche people, also called the Aónikenk, are an Indigenous people from eastern Patagonia in South America. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Tehuelche were influenced by Mapuche people, and many adopted a horseriding lifestyle. Once a ...

, descendants of the first settlers, expanded land use, developing a greater exchange with other, farther away groups. The arrival of the first European settlers triggered major changes in the original populations: the gradual increase of product exchange dependency and loss of territory caused migrations towards the west of the province and the incorporation of the original settlers into rural tasks. In early 1876, during the presidency of

Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...

and because of increasing tension regarding neighboring

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

's expansion attempts over Argentine Patagonia, Buenos Aires started issuing authorizations for the exploitation of

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

in the zone south of the Santa Cruz River, where 17 years earlier the Argentine commander

Luis Piedrabuena Luis Piedrabuena (; 24 August 1833 - 10 August 1883) was an Argentine sailor whose actions in southern Argentina consolidated national sovereignty at a time when these lands were virtually uninhabited and were not protected by the state. His biogr ...

had established an outpost. In April the governor of

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Diego Dublé Almeyda Diego Dublé Almeyda (1841 – May 6, 1922) was a Chilean Army officer. From 1874 to 1878 he was governor of governor of Punta Arenas in the Straits of Magellan. In 1876 he travelled on board of ''Chacabuco'' to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands ...

, sent the gunboat ''Magallanes'' with orders of sinking any Argentine vessels in the area. The French boat ''Jeanne-Amelie'', authorized by Avellaneda's administration, was boarded and its crew imprisoned by the Chilean forces, an incident that worsened the

bilateral relationship Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

. Two years later Chile once again seized a vessel in Monte León: this time it was the United States' ship ''Devonshire'', and the action put both countries at the verge of war.

Francisco P. Moreno Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as on ...

, naturalist and creator of the Argentine National Park System, and the paleontologist

Carlos Ameghino Carlos Ciriaco Ameghino (16 June 1865 – 12 April 1936) was an Argentine paleontologist and explorer who accompanied his brother Florentino Ameghino throughout Argentina searching for fossils. Scientific career Carlos Ameghino was educated ...

explored the area in the late 19th century. The Italian

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Alberto María De Agostini Father Alberto Maria de Agostini (2 November 1883 – 25 December 1960) born in Pollone, Piedmont was an Italian missionary of the Salesians of Don Bosco order as well as a passionate mountaineer, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, photographer ...

also visited it in the early 20th century. The ''Estancia Monte León'' belonged to the Southern Patagonia Sheep Farming Company Limited, which exploited it as a

sheep farm Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin an ...

. It was sold in 1920 to the Braun family, who continued this business until 2006. The extraction of guano was profitable until 1930. In 1996 Monte León was proposed to be included in the National Park System of Argentina. Francisco Erize, former director of the Argentine National Parks Administration, recommended the project to

Douglas Tompkins Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 – December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. He founded the North Face Inc, co-founded Esprit and various environ ...

, a billionaire businessman,

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

, and founder of Tompkins Conservation, a conservationist

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. In 2000, through the NGO

Conservación Patagónica Conservación Patagónica was a conservation group with a mission "to create national parks in Patagonia that save and restore wildlands and wildlife, inspire care for the natural world, and generate healthy economic opportunities for local communi ...

, founded and directed by

Kristine Tompkins Kristine "Kris" Tompkins (born June 1950) is an American conservationist. Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation and was CEO of Patagonia for 20 years, leaving the company in 1993. Early life Born Kristine McDivitt ...

, the farm land was acquired and transferred by

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

to Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, demanding it to be donated to the National Parks National Administration, a process finished in 2002. Finally, on 20 October 2004 the law creating the new national park was sanctioned by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, making Monte León the first continental marine park of Argentina.

Description

Monte León consists of high

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

cliffs, rock formations, islands, wide beaches interrupted by narrow bays, and

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

s that are uncovered in low tide. The park's coastal sector represents about 1% of the Argentine mainland shoreline. Cabeza de Leon Parque Nacional Monte Leon Santa Cruz Argentina.JPG, ''Monte Cabeza de León'' ("Lion Head Mount"), the rock formation the park is named for Monte Leon1.jpg,

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

cliffs over the park's beach Monteleonpatagonia1.jpg, Beach in low tide Monteleonpatagonia3.jpg, Beach in low tide Monteleonguanacos.jpg, A herd of

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 species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...

s in the neighboring

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

Climate

The park has a cold

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

with a mean annual temperature of . Temperatures during the winter months can fall below while they can exceed during summer. The park averages of rainfall per year, which is concentrated in fall and winter. Average annual wind speeds range between , although the park can experience gusts up to .

Biodiversity

135 - Cap Virgenes - Manchot de Magellan - Janvier 2010

The

Patagonian steppe The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the list of deserts by area, eighth-largest desert in the world by area, occupying approx. 673,000 square kilometres (260,000 mi2). It is l ...

, while barren at first glance, is inhabited by a considerable variety of plants. In 1880, Carlos Spegazzini, the founder of

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

in Argentina, identified several hitherto unknown grass species when researching the area as part of a scientific expedition financed by Italy. Aboriginal people used calafate resin as a sort of

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

, a custom that chroniclers linked to the good health and cleanliness of their dentures. The wild

thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...

is widely used in the local cuisine. Several other plant species found in the park also have medicinal uses. As is usual for desert climates, harsh winters are often followed by spectacular blooms of colorful flowers. Monte León is also home to about twenty species of coastal and marine birds: several varieties of

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

s (including the

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some bird migration, migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occas ...

, of which the park holds Argentina's fourth-largest colony, with about 60,000 individuals), three species of

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

(the red-legged cormorant, the rock shag and the

imperial shag The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black-and-white cormorant native to southern South America, islands of the Subantarctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at ...

), and large, flightless birds known as ''

ñandú The rhea ( ), also known as the ñandu ( ) or South American ostrich, is a South American ratite (flightless bird without a keel on the sternum bone) of the order Rheiformes. They are distantly related to the two African ostriches and Australia' ...

s'' (rheas). Very large populations of fish roam the cold sea waters. The park is also home to several large

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s, including

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s (forming populous colonies),

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20� ...

s, pumas and roaming herds of

guanacos 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 species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...

. The park is the only place in the world where pumas feed on penguins.

References

External links