Location: Santa Cruz Province Map
Area: 126,830 hectares
Perito Moreno National Park (strictly Perito Francisco P. Moreno
National Park and Reserve) is a national park in Argentina, located
in the center-west of the province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia, on
the border with Chile. It covers 126,830 ha in a mountainous region
cut by valleys, some of which are located at more than 900 meters
above sea level. The area of the Perito Moreno National Park is
subdivided into two management areas: a national park with 85,500
ha, and a protected area with managed resources with 29,500 ha.
Decree No. 2149/90 of October 10, 1990 designated a sector of the
first area as a strict nature reserve.1 The limits of the national
park cover territories corresponding to two ecoregions: the
Patagonian steppe and the Patagonian forests.
Place names
The name of the national park perpetuates the memory of Dr.
Francisco Pascasio Moreno, an outstanding naturalist, founder of the
Argentine national park system and the Museo de La Plata.
Climate
The latitude, the altitude and the proximity to the snowy
mountain massifs determine the rigorous climate of the park. During
the summer it is temperate-cold to cold. Maximum temperatures rarely
exceed 15 °C and below 0 °C are common. The rest of the year is
glacial, especially in winter, when the minimums usually reach -30
°C. The rains increase from east to west, where the clouds almost
constantly cover the Andes mountain range. Snowy precipitation
occurs at any time of the year, and in summer it is not limited to
the peaks that surround the park, but can suddenly reach the steppe
area. The constant and dominant winds come from the west, which is
why they are extremely cold. They usually blow at more than 100 km
per hour.
Relief
The park is located at approximately 900
meters above sea level, the height at which the inhabited valleys
are found. A series of mountain ranges that run from east to west
and from north to south, resembling an imposing amphitheater for the
observer located in the wide valley that enters the park. Within the
protected area, the highest peak is Cerro Heros, 2,770 meters above
sea level. Close to it, but already outside the park, the San
Lorenzo hill rises imposingly, with 3700 meters above sea level,
generally covered by clouds. To the north of Lake Belgrano rises
Cerro León (1,380 masl), and to the east of the same lake, the Gorra
de Vasco (1,140 m). Within the park, the Sierra Colorada is also
distinguished, about 1200 meters above sea level, whose western
slope is very steep, and whose color lives up to its name.
Hydrography
Two main basins are distinguished, one with a Pacific
slope and the other with an Atlantic one. There are eight main lakes
that make them up, as well as rivers and streams.
Lake Mogote
forms part of the basin that pours its waters into the Pacific
Ocean, which flows into the Peninsula, which in turn pours its flow
into Lake Volcán.
The Atlantic slope basin is that of Lake
Burmeister (located 932 meters above sea level), with leaden waters.
The Punta Bandera and Blanco rivers, through the Perdices, drain
their flow into it. In turn, the lake empties, through the Roble
River, into the Belgrano, and this into the Chico, which, after
crossing all of Patagonia, reaches the Santa Cruz River estuary,
which finally flows into the Atlantic. In addition, within the park
there are a large number of lagoons and streams.
Flora and fauna
Fauna Of the 24 species that the area houses, only
one is exotic. In addition, it is possible that one more native species
is found within its boundaries. It is the cat pajero or cat of the
pajonal, which appears as threatened in the national lists. The cat
huiña, another feline under threat, finds refuge here. Among the
representatives of the canids is the small gray fox.
Guanacos
abound, and herds of these quiet camelids are frequent, especially on
the peninsula of Lake Belgrano. The most feared species in the region is
the puma (Puma concolor). There are also wildcats, red foxes, piche,
ferrets, skunks, tucu-tucu, huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), a highly
endangered autochthonous deer that finds a safe refuge in the park and
in winter descends to the valleys in search of food, and pilquín , also
called orange chinchillón or vizcacha de las sierras, which lives on the
rocky cliffs. This pilquín is exclusive to Santa Cruz and neighboring
areas of Chile, and different from the other species that inhabits
Patagonia.
Within this Park 115 species of birds have been
registered, 5 of which nest in it. Among them is the hooded grebe
(Podiceps gallardoi), threatened with extinction, an aquatic bird
protected only in this Park. Also threatened, but protected in other
Patagonian parks, we observed the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)
flying over the area. Different species of corraleras populate the
steppe and, among the coirones, breed the 4 species of snipe or
partridge plovers. At the top of the hills you can see abundant condors,
some eagles, such as the blackberry, and flocks of diucas. In the
lagoons, the southern flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), the great
bustards, several species of ducks (Anas spp.) such as the steamer duck
and the piebald duck, the hualas, etc. are frequent. There are
references to the presence of black-necked swans (Cygnus melancoryphus)
and the coscoroba swan.
The rivers and lakes are populated by a
native fish, locally called "peladilla", which is edible. Fortunately,
exotic species have not been introduced, as is the case in other
Patagonian parks, so the native fish fauna may survive. Flora As far as
flora is concerned, the park has three clearly defined sectors: the
steppe, represented by dense coironales and specimens of crooked bush; a
transition zone with characterized stunted vegetation (tussok); a
stunted forest consisting mainly of ñire and lenga and a climax forest
consisting almost exclusively of lengas that are located mainly in the
coastal areas of the Nansen and Azara lakes.
Management
By
resolution No. 126/2011 of the National Parks Administration of May 19,
2011, it was established that the national park would be classified for
administrative purposes in the category protected areas of complexity
III, for which it is headed by a designated intendant, On which 4
departments depend (Administration; Works and Maintenance; National Park
Rangers; Conservation and Public Use) and the Dispatch and Entry, Exit,
and Notifications Desk division. The administration has its headquarters
in the town of Gobernador Gregores.
Extension
On May 2, 2016,
President Mauricio Macri issued Decree No. 641/2016 that created the
15,175-hectare El Rincón Wild Nature Reserve on land adjacent to the
Perito Moreno National Park donated by environmental conservationist
Douglas Tompkins. Its declaration as a wild nature reserve is transitory
until the National Congress incorporates it by law into the Perito
Moreno National Park.