Queulat National Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 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...

 located in the Aisén Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River

Cisnes River

The Cisnes River is a river located in the Aisén Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It runs in east-west direction from the mountains near the border to Argentina and empties into the Pacific Ocean, near the town of Puerto Cisnes at Puyuhuapi Channel.Its characteristic turquoise-blue color is due to...

 on the south side and is neighbor to Lago Rosselot National Reserve

Lago Rosselot National Reserve

Lago Rosselot National Reserve is a nature reserve located immediately north of Queulat National Park and east of the Carretera Austral, in Aisén Region, Chile. It is named after Rosselot Lake....

. It contains 1541 sqkm of glacier-capped mountains and virgin evergreen forests.

History

In 1766, the Jesuit Father José García Alsue explored the area searching for the City of the Caesars

City of the Caesars

The City of the Caesars , also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín, is a mythical city of South America. It is supposedly located somewhere in Patagonia, in some valley of the Andes between Chile and Argentina...

.

Park geography

Local relief is dominated by the Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

n 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...

, with some elevations greater than 2000 m (6,562 ft) above sea level. A portion of the Puyuhuapi Volcanic Group

Puyuhuapi (volcanic group)

Puyuhuapi Volcanic Group is a volcanic group of cinder cones located at the head of Puyuhuapi Channel, in the Aisén Region of Chile....

 form part of the park, specifically the area south of the Lake Risopatrón. The park comprises two small ice field

Ice field

An ice field is an area less than 50,000 km² of ice often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation. It is an extensive area of interconnected valley glaciers from which the higher peaks rise as nunataks...

s, with glaciers of up to 12 km (7 mi) long. The largest glaciated area is Queulat ice cap, which encompasses about 80 sqkm and contains park's centerpiece, the Queulat Hanging Glacier. This ice cap is centered at 44°25′S 72°25′W, and is at an elevation of 1889 m (6,198 ft). The other ice cap covers an area of approximately 40 sqkm and is centered at an unnamed summit at 44°30′S 72°19′W, at an elevation of 2255 m (7,398 ft). The main ice cap borders the northernmost part of the Puyuhuapi Channel

Puyuhuapi Channel

thumb|250px|right|View of [[Cay |Cay Volcano]] to the south from Puyuhuapi ChannelPuyuhuapi is a sea channel separating Magdalena Island from the mainland of Aysén Region in Chile. The channel runs through a branch of the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault. The main settlement in the channel is Puerto Cisnes....

 called Ventisquero Sound.

Other attractions in the park are the Queulat Sound, Father García and The Cóndor Falls, and Cat's Stone (Piedra del Gato).

Flora

A characteristic feature of this park is the presence of Valdivian temperate rain forests

Valdivian temperate rain forests

The Valdivian temperate rain forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed-forest ecoregion located on the west coast of southern South America, lying mostly in Chile and extending into a small part of Argentina. It is part of the Neotropic ecozone. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia...

. Various portions of the park receive up to 4000 mm (157 in) of precipitation annually. In this wet environment typical trees include coihue

Coihue

Nothofagus dombeyi is a tree species native to southern Chile and the Andean parts of Argentine Patagonia. It grows from 35 to 45° South latitude between 700 and 1,200 m above mean sea level. It forms dense forests, like those found in the Los Alerces and Nahuel Huapi national parks...

 and tepa

Laureliopsis philippiana

Laureliopsis philippiana , known as Tepa is a species of plant endemic to Chile and Argentina . In Chile it is found from Maule to Aysen. It grows on humid and deep soils.-Description:...

. The understory

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...

 vegetation consists of species such as tepú, quila, chilco

Fuchsia magellanica

Berry, Paul E. A Systematic Revision of Fuchsia Sect Quelusia . Ann. Missouri Bot Gard. 76:532-584. 1989Fuchsia magellanica, is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae, native to Southern Argentina and Chile from 32.5° S. to the Straits of Magellan...

 and nalca (a plant with enormous leaves). The Carretera Austral

Carretera Austral

The Carretera Austral , formerly known as Carretera General Augusto Pinochet, is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins through rural Patagonia....

 runs through the middle of the park and includes a sector of hairpin turn

Hairpin turn

A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...

s (Cuesta Queulat), a place where it is possible to appreciate vegetation changes due to differences of elevation.

Fauna

Between the South and North Mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

, there are different fauna like Pudú

Pudú

The pudús are two species of South American deer from the genus Pudu; the world's smallest deer. The name is a loanword from Mapudungun the language of the indigenous Mapuche people of southern Chile...

, Kodkod

Kodkod

The Kodkod , also called Guiña, is the smallest cat in the Americas and also has the smallest distribution, being found primarily in central and southern Chile and marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina...

, Chucao Tapaculo

Chucao Tapaculo

The Chucao Tapaculo is a species of bird in the Rhinocryptidae family.It is found in Argentina and Chile.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-References:...

, Hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

, Chilean Pigeon

Chilean Pigeon

The Chilean Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Argentina, Chile, and Falkland Islands.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-References:...

, Magellanic Woodpecker

Magellanic Woodpecker

The Magellanic Woodpecker is a very large woodpecker resident to Chile along the Andes, and to some parts of southwestern Argentina. This species is the southern-most example of the genus Campephilus, which includes the famous Ivory-billed Woodpecker.The Magellanic Woodpecker is 45 cm in length...

, Black-throated Huet-huet

Black-throated Huet-huet

The Black-throated Huet-huet is a species of bird in the Rhinocryptidae family.It is found in Argentina and Chile.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-References:...

 and Thorn-tailed Rayadito

Thorn-tailed Rayadito

The Thorn-tailed Rayadito is a species of bird in the Furnariidae family.It is found in Argentina and Chile and may formerly have occurred in the Falkland Islands....

. In the near-shore environment fauna includes Magellan Goose, Southern River Otter

Southern River Otter

The Southern river otter is a species of otter that lives in Chile and Argentina. Although called a "river otter", it inhabits both marine and freshwater environments....

, Coypu

Coypu

The coypu , , also known as the river rat, and nutria, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent and the only member of the family Myocastoridae. Originally native to subtropical and temperate South America, it has since been introduced to North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily by...

, Chiloe Wigeon

Chiloe Wigeon

The Chiloe Wigeon is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. Unlike other wigeons, the sexes are similar and pairs are monogamous. This bird has a metallic green head, and a gray bill with a black tip. Its breast is barred black and white and its sides are orange brown...

, Yellow-billed Pintail

Yellow-billed Pintail

The Yellow-billed Pintail is a South American dabbling duck of the genus Anas with three described subspecies.-Description:...

, Red Shoveler

Red Shoveler

The Red Shoveler , formerly known as Red Shoveller, is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Anas. It is found in southern South America, in Argentina, southern Peru, southern Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, southern Brazil, and Chile...

, Flying Steamer Duck

Flying Steamer Duck

The Flying Steamer Duck, Tachyeres patachonicus, is a steamer duck. It is the most widespread steamer duck, resident in southern Chile and Argentina, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. Its plumage is very similar to the other three steamer ducks...

, Rosybill

Rosybill

The Rosy-billed Pochard, alternatively named Rosybill, or Rosybill Pochard is a duck with a distinctive red bill on males and a slate-colored bill on females...

, Red-gartered Coot

Red-gartered Coot

The Red-gartered Coot is a species of bird in the Rallidae family. At in length, it is a fairly large species of coot....

, Ringed Kingfisher

Ringed Kingfisher

The Ringed Kingfisher is a large, conspicuous and noisy kingfisher, commonly found along the lower Rio Grande River valley in southeasternmost Texas in the United States through Central America to Tierra del Fuego in South America....

, Great Egret

Great Egret

The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...

, White-necked Heron

White-necked Heron

The White-necked Heron, Ardea pacifica also known as the Pacific Heron is found throughout New Guinea and Australia, except for the most arid regions, and is a vagrant to New Zealand....

, Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron

The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...

, Torrent Duck

Torrent Duck

The Torrent Duck is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus Merganetta. Today it is placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after the "perching duck" assemblage where it was formerly assigned to was dissolved because it turned out to be...

, Sedge Wren

Sedge Wren

The Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It was formerly known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren, and in South America is known as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas...

, Chilean Flicker

Chilean Flicker

The Chilean Flicker is a species of bird in the Picidae family.It is found in Argentina and Chile.Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest....

, Black-necked Swan

Black-necked Swan

The Black-necked Swan is the largest waterfowl native to South America. Males are and weigh 4.5-6.7 kg ; females are and weigh 3.5-4.4 kg . The wingspan ranges from . The body plumage is white with a black neck, head and greyish bill. It has a red knob near the base of the bill and...

 and four eyes toad (Pleurodema thaul).