Queulat National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Queulat National Park |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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Queulat Glacier
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 Queulat National Park
Location in Chile
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| Location | Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, Chile |
| Nearest city | Puerto Puyuhuapi |
| Area | 1,541 km2 (595 sq mi) |
| Established | 1983 |
| Visitors | 6,195 (in 2004) |
| Governing body | Corporación Nacional Forestal |
Queulat National Park is a beautiful national park in Chile. It is found in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The park is next to the Cisnes River on its south side and is close to the Lago Rosselot National Reserve. Queulat National Park covers a huge area of 1,541 km2 (595 sq mi). This land is filled with mountains topped with glaciers and untouched evergreen forests. It's a fantastic place to explore nature!
Contents
History of Queulat Park
In 1766, a Jesuit priest named José García Alsue explored this area. He was looking for a legendary place called the City of the Caesars.
Exploring Queulat's Geography
The park's landscape is mostly made up of the Patagonian Andes mountains. Some of these mountains are taller than 2,000 m (6,562 ft) above sea level. A part of the Puyuhuapi Volcanic Group (which are volcanoes) is also inside the park. This volcanic area is south of Lake Risopatrón.
The park has two smaller ice fields. These ice fields have glaciers that can be up to 12 km (7 mi) long! The biggest icy area is the Queulat ice cap. It covers about 80 km2 (31 sq mi). This is where you'll find the park's most famous sight: the Queulat Hanging Glacier. This ice cap is located at 44°25′S 72°25′W / 44.417°S 72.417°W and is 1,889 m (6,198 ft) high.
The other ice cap is smaller, covering about 40 km2 (15 sq mi). It's centered at an unnamed mountain peak at 44°30′S 72°19′W / 44.500°S 72.317°W, which is 2,255 m (7,398 ft) high. The main ice cap is next to the northern part of the Puyuhuapi Channel, which is called Ventisquero Sound.
One amazing sight in the park is the Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante. This is a large waterfall! The water comes from the melting glacier and falls straight down into the Témpanos River.
Other cool places to see in the park include the Queulat Sound, Father García Falls, The Cóndor Falls, and a rock formation called Cat's Stone (Piedra del Gato).
Plants and Trees of Queulat
A special thing about this park is its Valdivian temperate rain forests. These are very wet forests! Some parts of the park get a lot of rain, up to 4,000 mm (157 in) every year.
In this rainy environment, you'll find common trees like coihue and tepa. The plants growing underneath the trees include species like tepú, quila, chilco, and nalca. Nalca is a plant known for its huge leaves! Higher up in the mountains, the forests are mostly made of coigüe de Magallanes and lenga trees.
The Carretera Austral (a famous road) goes right through the middle of the park. There's a part of the road with many sharp turns called Cuesta Queulat. As you drive along it, you can see how the types of plants change at different heights on the mountains.
Animals of Queulat National Park
Queulat National Park is home to many different animals!
In the southern part of the park, near the Queulat mountain pass, you might spot mammals like the small pudú deer or the kodkod wildcat. There are also many kinds of birds here. Some birds you might see are the chucao tapaculo, Chilean pigeon, Magellanic woodpecker, black-throated huet-huet, and thorn-tailed rayadito.
The northern areas of the park are closer to the water. Here, you can find semi-aquatic mammals like the southern river otter and the coypu. Birds in this area include the Magellan goose, Chiloe wigeon, yellow-billed pintail, red shoveler, flying steamer duck, rosy-billed pochard, red-gartered coot, ringed kingfisher, great egret, cocoi heron, black-crowned night heron, torrent duck, sedge wren, Chilean flicker, and the beautiful black-necked swan.
See also
In Spanish: Parque nacional Queulat para niños
