Lanín National Park (Argentina)
Lanín National Park is located in the southern part of Neuquén Province, Argentina, within Argentine Patagonia. Created in 1937 to protect and preserve an area of Andean-Patagonian Forests, it takes its name from its highest peak, the Lanín volcano, on the border with Chile.
Lanín National Park
Lanín National Park is located in the southern part of Neuquén Province, Argentina, within Argentine Patagonia. Consisting of 413,000 ha (1,020,000 acres), it is the third largest National Park in Argentina, after Nahuel Huapí National Park and Los Glaciares National Park.
The National Park takes its name from its highest peak, the Lanín (meaning "Dead Rock" in the native Mapuche language) volcano, an ice-clad cone-shaped extinct stratovolcano of 3,776 m (12,388 ft), which borders Chile and its Villarrica National Park.
Lanín National Park contains many glacial lakes. The leading lakes within the park include Ñorquinco, Quillén, Tromen, Huechulafquen, Curruhué, Lolog, Lácar, Meliquina, Machónico, and Hermoso. Most of these lakes drain into the Atlantic Ocean through the Limay and Negro rivers, except Lake Lácar, which drains into the Pacific Ocean.
Lanín National Park is also home to a population of indigenous Mapuche, who are responsible for managing and maintaining it.
The park contains the town of Sant Martin de Los Andes and forms part of Argentina's Camino de Los Siete Lagos (Seven Lakes Route). Along with four other national parks, it comprises a part of the Andino Norpatagónica Biosphere Reserve.
Lanín National Park was created in 1937 to protect and preserve an area of Andean-Patagonian Forests, including the Monkey-puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana), the Raulí (Nothofagus nervosa) and the Roble beech (Nothofagus obliqua).
The park is also home to many of the same species that characterize more southerly Patagonian forests, such as the southern beeches: lenga, ñire, and coihue.
Three different ecoregions are found within the protected area of the park:
The climate is mild and humid, with warm summers, plenty of rain during spring and autumn, and frequent snow with temperatures below zero in winter.
Endemic birds of the Andean Patagonian Forest include the Magellanic Woodpecker, the Austral Parakeet, the Chucao Tapaculo, the Des Murs’ Wiretail, and the Green-Backed Firecrown.
Mammals such as the South Andean Deer, the Southern Pudu, the Puma, and the Austral Spotted Cat live within the deep forests.