Queulat National Park is a national park in Chile located in the Aysén Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River on the south and is next to Lago Rosselot National Reserve. It covers an area of 1,541 km² (595 square miles) and includes glacier-capped mountains and untouched evergreen forests.

History

In 1766, Jesuit priest José García Alsue traveled to the area to search for the City of the Caesars.

Park geography

Local relief is shaped mainly by the Patagonian Andes, with some areas rising more than 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) above sea level. Part of the Puyuhuapi Volcanic Group is included in the park, particularly the area south of Lake Risopatrón. The park contains two small ice fields, each with glaciers as long as 12 kilometers (7 miles). The largest glacier area is the Queulat Ice Cap, covering about 80 square kilometers (31 square miles) and featuring the park's main attraction, the Queulat Hanging Glacier. This ice cap is located at 44°25′S 72°25′W and sits at an elevation of 1,889 meters (6,198 feet). The second ice cap covers approximately 40 square kilometers (15 square miles) and is centered at an unnamed summit located at 44°30′S 72°19′W, at an elevation of 2,255 meters (7,398 feet). The main ice cap borders the northern end of the Puyuhuapi Channel, known as Ventisquero Sound.

Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante, a large waterfall, is found within the park. Water from the glacier flows into the Témpanos River and drops down the waterfall’s single vertical section.

Other places of interest in the park include Queulat Sound, Father García, Cóndor Falls, and Cat’s Stone (Piedra del Gato).

Flora

A special feature of this park is the Valdivian temperate rain forests. Some parts of the park get up to 4,000 mm of rain each year. In this wet environment, typical trees include coihue and tepa. The plants growing under the trees include species like tepú, quila, chilco, and nalca (a plant with very large leaves). At higher elevations, the forests are mostly made up of coigüe de Magallanes and lenga. The Carretera Austral passes through the center of the park and includes a section with many tight turns (Cuesta Queulat), where visitors can see different types of vegetation found at various heights in the park.

Fauna

In the southern part of the park (Queulat mountain pass), wildlife includes mammals such as pudú, kodkod, and many types of birds, such as chucao tapaculo, Chilean pigeon, Magellanic woodpecker, black-throated huet-huet, and thorn-tailed rayadito. The northern areas of the park are home to wildlife near the water's edge, including semi-aquatic mammals like southern river otter and coypu. Birds found in this region include Magellanic goose, Chiloe wigeon, yellow-billed pintail, red shoveler, flying steamer duck, rosy-billed pochard, red-gartered coot, ringed kingfisher, great egret, cocoi heron, black-crowned night heron, torrent duck, sedge wren, Chilean flicker, and black-necked swan.