Bosque Andino Patagónico facts for kids
The Bosque Andino Patagónico, also called the Patagonian Andean forest, is a cool forest found in southern Chile and western Patagonia in Argentina. This special forest is located at the southern tip of South America. Its weather is shaped by moist air coming from the Pacific Ocean. This air drops most of its rain as it moves over the Andes mountains. The forest is mostly filled with trees from the Nothofagus family.
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Where is the Patagonian Andean Forest?
The Patagonian Andean forest is one of the few temperate forests that humans haven't changed much. It covers about 6.5 million hectares, which is a huge area! This forest is also important for its history and old discoveries.
This forest stretches between 37°S and 55°S latitude, covering both sides of the Andes mountains. It runs for about 2,200 km (1,367 miles) along the Pacific coast. You can find it from just south of Mendoza in Argentina all the way to the southern part of Santa Cruz Province and Tierra del Fuego.
It's a thin strip of land, only about 75 km (47 miles) wide at its widest. In some spots, like near the Chubut River, it gets even narrower. To the east, the forest meets the dry Patagonian Desert. This forest is unique and doesn't have an exact match in the northern half of the world. This is because of its special plants, animals, and environment.
The forest is split into four main areas: the deciduous forest, Magellanic forest, Valdivian forest, and Del Pehuén. The Andes mountains get more rain than other parts of Patagonia. There are also many lakes and rivers here. More people are moving to towns near the forest, and tourism is growing. This can lead to more pollution in the area.
What is the Climate Like?
The weather in these forests depends on the air, mountains, and ocean. Strong westerly winds carry a lot of moisture from the Pacific Ocean. These winds are linked to a big high-pressure system in the South Pacific.
Weather systems move inland, bringing a lot of rain to the low areas in southern Patagonia. This makes the fiord region one of the wettest places on Earth outside the tropics. Some places get over 7,000 mm (276 inches) of rain each year! East of the Andes, the rain quickly stops.
In northern Patagonia, the seasons change as the high-pressure system moves north in summer and south in winter. More rain falls on the western side of the mountains during winter. Some areas can have long dry spells in summer. Further east, on the Patagonian plateau, the air is dry, and there's very little rain all year. Over a distance of just 80 km (50 miles) from west to east, rainfall can drop from 2,000 mm (79 inches) to only 200 mm (8 inches) per year.
On the western side of the Andes, the cold Humboldt Current and the westerly winds help keep temperatures steady. The average air temperature is 12°C (54°F) at 36°S latitude and 6°C (43°F) at 55°S latitude. On the eastern side of the mountains, temperatures change much more, creating a more continental climate.
What are the Soils Like?
Much of the soil around the Andes comes from volcanic material. These soils have a special clay called allophane that holds water well. This helps plants survive dry periods. These soils mostly form from volcanic ash and ash blown by the wind. These ash layers can be several meters thick.
These soils are very porous, meaning they have many tiny holes, and are not very dense. Locals call them trumao, which are a type of soil known as Andosols. Other soil types include ñadis, which are wet soils that usually form on top of material left by glaciers. While trumaos come from recent ash, older ash layers develop into brown and red-clay soils. These soils can also come from metamorphic rocks in the Chilean Coast Range.
In the high Andes, the soils are called lithosols and have very little plant material. Much of the ground here might be frozen all year round, a condition called permafrost. The plants are sparse, with mosses and lichens growing on rocks. Generally, in the northern Argentine area, soils change as you go from west to east and from high to low altitude. You'll find lithosols, then andosols, then cambisols, and finally regosols. The regosols are found where the forest meets the Patagonian steppe.
Forest Regions
Deciduous Forest
This is the easternmost and driest part of the forest. It stretches from Neuquén to Tierra del Fuego. The three main trees here lose their leaves in autumn. They are the lenga beech (Nothofagus pumilio), the Antarctic beech (Nothofagus antarctica), and the mountain cypress (Austrocedrus chilensis).
Other trees include the radal (Lomatia hirsuta), the raulí beech (Nothofagus alpina), and the roble beech (Nothofagus obliqua). Below these tall trees, you'll find smaller shrubs and trees. These include boxleaf azara (Azara microphylla), Chilean wineberry (Aristotelia chilensis), Darwin's barberry (Berberis darwinii), box-leaved barberry (Berberis microphylla), and the bamboo coligüe cane (Chusquea culeou). There are also many different kinds of herbs.
Magellanic Forest
The southern part of the forest is colder and drier. Because of this, fewer types of plants grow here. The main tree is the evergreen Magellan's beech (Nothofagus betuloides). Sometimes, the canelo (Drimys winteri) also grows here.
The shrubs below the trees are similar to those in the deciduous forest, but without the bamboo. You can also find peat bogs here. These bogs have different kinds of sphagnum moss and plants like the sundew (Drosera uniflora).
Valdivian Forest
The Valdivian forest is found in scattered areas on the western side of the region. It gets a lot more rain here. Some places, like Puerto Blest near the Rio Negro in Argentina, get an average of 4,000 mm (157 inches) of rain each year. It can feel like a jungle!
The most common trees here are the coihue (Nothofagus dombeyi), the Patagonian cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides), the Chilean hazel (Gevuina avellana), the ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia), the Guaitecas cypress (Pilgerodendron uviferum), the podocarp (Podocarpus nubigenus), and the female maniu (Saxegothaea conspicua). There is a thick layer of plants below, including bamboos, the hardy fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica), reeds, and ferns.
Animals in the Valdivian forest include a tree-dwelling marsupial called the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides). You can also find the world's smallest deer, the southern pudú (Pudu puda), and South America's smallest cat, the kodkod (Leopardus guigna). A giant snail (Macrocyclis peruvianus), with a shell up to 6.5 cm (2.6 inches) long, also lives here.
Del Pehuén
This region is in the center of the forest, west of Neuquén. The most important tree here is the Chilean pine (Araucaria araucana). This area has seen a lot of tree cutting in the past. The plants growing below the trees are sparse. They include shrubs like the bamboo caña coligüe (Chusquea culeou) and the box-leaved barberry (Berberis buxifolia).
Animals of the Forest
The Patagonian Andean forest is home to many different animals, and many of them are found nowhere else in the world. Mammals that hunt other animals include the puma (Puma concolor), the culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus), the southern river otter (Lontra provocax), and the Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi).
Other mammals you might find are Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus humboldtii), the Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum), the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the south Andean deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus), and many types of rodents.
There are also many different birds, from the large black-chested buzzard-eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) and Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus) to the smaller Chilean swallow (Tachycineta meyeni) and the torrent duck (Merganetta armata).
Amphibians include the toad (Rhinella spinulosa), the large four-eyed frog (Pleurodema bufoninum), Pleurodema bibroni, and the Darwin's frog (Rhinoderma darwinii). You can also find many lizards and the Peru slender snake (Tachymenis peruviana). The lakes and rivers are full of many native fish species.
Ancient Rock Art
Rock paintings have been discovered in the valley of the Rio Manso in northern Patagonia. These paintings are found in both Argentina and Chile. Most of the paintings are abstract, meaning they show patterns rather than real objects. They often have complex designs of straight lines, zig-zags, diamonds, and triangles, and sometimes circles within circles.
There are also some pictures of humans and animals. The most common color used is different shades of red. The style of these artworks suggests that they were made by hunter-gatherers during the late Holocene era, which was a long time ago.
See also
In Spanish: Bosque andino patagónico para niños
