Alberto de Agostini National Park
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Alberto de Agostini National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
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Location: | Magallanes Region, Chile |
Area: | 14,600 km² |
Governing body: | Corporación Nacional Forestal |
Alberto de Agostini National Park is located in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. It covers 14,600 square kilometres and includes the Cordillera Darwin (mountain range). The park is named after Alberto María de Agostini, who was an Italian missionary and explorer. Several tidewater glaciers and steep fjords form part of this park. The largest glacier is the Marinelli. The park also comprises the islands Gordon, Londonderry and part of the Hoste Island (excluding the Hardy Peninsula and other portions).
One of the most stunning portions of the park is the Seno Pía, an embayment of the Beagle Channel. The glaciers and mountains in this area form an amazing scenery, which also comprises the majestic Mount Darwin. Another highlight of the park is the Avenue of the Glaciers, where the word avenue is used in a figurative sense describing a zone of the north-west arm of the Beagle Channel from which is possible to appreciate several beautiful glaciers when sailing along the north shore of it. These glaciers are: España, Romanche, Alemania, Italia, Francia and Holanda.
The wildlife is mainly marine and includes Marine Otters, Sea Lions and Elephant seals. The park is home to various species of trees such as the Coihue of Magallanes (Nothofagus betuloides) and the Canelo (Drimys winteri).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- http://www.sernatur.cl/Areas_Silvestres/Magallanes/Magallanes.html
- http://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386i/chile-arg/wet/historic.html