Huinay, Chile is a tract of land belonging to the San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation. This territory covers nearly 350 km² in the Commune of Hualaihué, in 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;...

 of Chile

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...

. It lies between the Comau or Leptepu fiord and the border with the Republic of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in the Palena Province

Palena Province

Palena Province is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos . Due to the eruption of Chaitén Volcano and the subsequent destruction of Chaitén, Futaleufú is since March 2009 the new capital of Palena Province. The private Pumalín Park is located in the province as is...

. Its location is
42°22′S 72°24′W. Huinay also divides the private Pumalín Park

Pumalín Park

Pumalín Park is a private nature reserve in the Palena Province of Chile, created by the United States environmental foundation The Conservation Land Trust, which is endowed and led by the American business magnate Douglas Tompkins...

 belonging to American owner Douglas Tompkins

Douglas Tompkins

Douglas Tompkins is an American environmentalist, conservationist and a former businessman.Tompkins co-founded and ran two clothing companies: the outdoor clothing company The North Face; and with his then-wife Susie, the ESPRIT clothing company. Since leaving the business world in 1989, Tompkins...

 into two parts. Tompkins wants to purchase it in order to unify his park, however, this has met with strong opposition from the people in the hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 of Huinay.

The Leptepu fjord is part of a 68 km longitudinal structural fault that runs from north to south, profoundly remodelled through the passing of the continental glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s during the glaciations of the Quaternary period.

The ice field that slid through the fiord, trapped between high mountains, carved the valleys deeply - they have subsequently been partially refilled with sediment

Sediment

Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....

, resulting in a remaining depth of up to 500 m below current sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. In numerous places there is evidence of the glacio-isostatic structures that survived the postglacial eustatic advances during the last 15,000 years.

Huinay is under the influence of a cold and humid climate. The annual rainfall is very variable, with generally two or three comparatively dry months in summer in the fjord region with a strong increase towards the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 mountain range, resulting in almost 6000 mm of annual precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 in Huinay. The average yearly temperature is approximately 11.5 °C. This, together with the abundant rainfall, sustains the thick, evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

, mixed, mild jungle

Jungle

A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...

that extends to the high-water mark along the walls of the fjord.