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Corcovado National Park (Chile)
Encyclopedia
Corcovado National Park is an 726000 acres (2,938 km²) preserved area of Valdivian temperate rainforest, high peaks, alpine lakes, and rivers in Chile
's Los Lagos Region
. This coastal park borders the same name
to the west and includes the iconic volcanoes Corcovado
and Yanteles
. This preserved area has no public access infrastructure.
Corcovado National Park represents an innovative joint public/ private conservation effort. While most of the park's area was previously federal land, mostly under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Armed Forces, the 1994 purchase of a key 208000 acres (841.7 km²) parcel by the Conservation Land Trust and U.S. philanthropist Peter Buckley
sparked the effort to transform this area into a national park. In 2002, through an intermediary, Conservation Land Trust founder Doug Tompkins approached then-president Ricardo Lagos
with a proposition: If the private lands around Corcovado were given to the people of Chile, would the government contribute the adjoining federal land and create a new national park? The property was not vital to military readiness, and both President Lagos and General Juan Emilio Cheyre, the nation’s top military officer at the time, endorsed the idea. Corcovado National Park, Chile’s fourth largest, was formally designated by President Lagos in January 2005, largely due to his determination.
, with about 18 mammal species, 64 bird species and 133 flora species. The brackish estuaries where the Corcovado and Tic Toc rivers spill into the Bay of Corcovado are exceptional wildlife habitat. Immense colonies of shorebirds coat the beaches. Penguins scamper about the rocks. Marine mammals, including seals and sea lions, thrive in the bay, which was discovered to be a crucial nursery area for blue whales, Earth’s largest animals. The bay, once the lair of pirates, is now proposed to become Chile’s first marine sanctuary, assuring a continuity of protection for wildlife from ocean bottom to mountain peaks.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
's Los Lagos Region
Los Lagos Region
Los Lagos Region is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second largest island, Chiloé, and the second largest lake, Llanquihue.Its capital is Puerto Montt;...
. This coastal park borders the same name
Gulf of Corcovado
Gulf of Corcovado is a large body of water separating the Chiloé Island from the mainland of Chile. Geologically it is a foreland basin that has been carved out by Quaternary glaciers. A large population of blue whales is found there, and it is under threat from salmon farming....
to the west and includes the iconic volcanoes Corcovado
Corcovado (volcano)
Corcovado Volcano is a stratovolcano located about 25 km south of the mouth of Yelcho River, in the Palena Province, Los Lagos Region, Chile. The glacially eroded volcano is flanked by Holocene cinder cones. The most distinctive feature of this volcano is its stepped top, similar to that of...
and Yanteles
Yanteles
Yanteles is an isolated stratovolcano composed of five glacier-capped peaks along an 8 km-long NE-trending ridge. It is located approximately south of the Corcovado volcano in the Chilean X Region within the Corcovado National Park....
. This preserved area has no public access infrastructure.
History
Peter Buckley
Peter Buckley is the name of:* Peter Buckley , English journeyman welterweight boxer* Peter J. Buckley, Oregon State Representative, District 5 * Peter Buckley , British former professional racing cyclist...
sparked the effort to transform this area into a national park. In 2002, through an intermediary, Conservation Land Trust founder Doug Tompkins approached then-president Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar is a lawyer, economist and social democrat politician, who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union candidate Joaquín Lavín...
with a proposition: If the private lands around Corcovado were given to the people of Chile, would the government contribute the adjoining federal land and create a new national park? The property was not vital to military readiness, and both President Lagos and General Juan Emilio Cheyre, the nation’s top military officer at the time, endorsed the idea. Corcovado National Park, Chile’s fourth largest, was formally designated by President Lagos in January 2005, largely due to his determination.
Geography
This wilderness park of approximately 726000 acres (2,938 km²) contains some eighty-two lakes, many ringed with ancient forests where pumas haunt the shadows. The park hosts significant biodiversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
, with about 18 mammal species, 64 bird species and 133 flora species. The brackish estuaries where the Corcovado and Tic Toc rivers spill into the Bay of Corcovado are exceptional wildlife habitat. Immense colonies of shorebirds coat the beaches. Penguins scamper about the rocks. Marine mammals, including seals and sea lions, thrive in the bay, which was discovered to be a crucial nursery area for blue whales, Earth’s largest animals. The bay, once the lair of pirates, is now proposed to become Chile’s first marine sanctuary, assuring a continuity of protection for wildlife from ocean bottom to mountain peaks.