Hornopirén National Park

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Hornopirén National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Blanco River, Hornopirén
Location	Los Lagos Region, Chile
Nearest city	Hornopirén
Coordinates	41°55′00″S 72°16′00″W / -41.916667, -72.266667
Area	482 km²
Established	1988
Governing body	Corporación Nacional Forestal

Hornopirén National Park is located in the Andes, in the Palena Province, in Los Lagos Region of Chile. The park contains 482 km² of rugged mountains and unspoilt Valdivian temperate rain forests. This national park borders the northern portion of Pumalín Park. The Carretera Austral passes close to the park. In the vicinity of the park lie Hornopirén and Yate volcanoes.

1 Geography
2 Biology
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Geography

The park is dominated by glacially carved mountains and active volcanoes. It includes glaciers comprising an area of 30 km².

The three main bodies of water in the park are: Pinto Concha Lake (4.75 km²), Cabro Lake (1.55 km²) and Inexplorado Lake (1.5 km²). ^[1] They are surrounded totally or partially by millennial Alerce forests. Inexplorado Lake is one of a series of paternoster lakes that form part of the Blanco River drainage basin. The aforesaid lakes are characterized by distinctive blue and green hues, due to rock flour suspended in their waters and give to the river its milky appearance. Negro River is another major river system in the park.

[edit] Biology

The park has about 25 mammal species, including native as well as exotic species. Among them are the Cougar, Kodkod, Lesser Grison, Chilla Fox, American Mink, Coypu, Pudú and Chilean Huemul.

It includes Fitzroya trees almost in pure stands. The pristine alerce forests cover an area of about 97.41 km², which comprises approximately the 35 percent of the vegetation cover of the park.^[2]