Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

 

Aconcagua is a member of the seven summits

 

 

 

Andes-Mountains-Argentina-Cerro-Aconcagua

 

Mount Aconcagua Photo: Nicolas Prieto

 

South America's Tallest Mountain: Mount Aconcagua 

 

Mount Aconcagua

 

The highest point in the Andes Mountains is Mount Aconcagua, located in the Southern Andes Mountains. Although its peak is in Argentina, its western flanks build up from the coastal lowlands of Chile, just north of Santiago. Mount Aconcagua is the highest point in the Western Hemisphere at 22,831 feet (6,959 metres).

 

 

칠레공화국(República de Chile)

 

 

A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,300 km (2,670 mi) north to south, but only 350 km (217 mi) at its widest point east to west  and 64 km (40 mi) at its narrowest point east to west, with an average width of 175 km (109 mi). This encompasses a remarkable variety of climates and landscapes. It contains 756,950 square kilometers (292,260 sq mi) of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Excluding its Pacific islands and Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 75°W.

 

 

 

 

 

Natural regions of Chile.

Natural regions of Chile.

 

Patagonia

 

토레스 델 파이네 국립공원(Parque Nacional Torres del Paine)

 

 

 

 

Torres del Paine National Park is best known as a hiker's paradise with its soaring mountains, and bright blue icebergs that cleave from glaciers.

 

 

Torres del Paine National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Torres del Paine)[3] is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-neh, while Torres means "towers". It was established as a National Park in 1959.

 

Torres del Paine National Park is part of the Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado de Chile (National System of Protected Forested Areas of Chile). In 2013, it measured approximately 181,414 hectares (700 sq mi).  It is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile. The park averages around 252,000 visitors a year, of which 54% are foreign tourists,  who come from many countries all over the world. It is also part of the End of the World Route, a tourist scenic route.

 

The park is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica (together with four national parks, three national reserves, and three national monuments). Together, the protected forested areas comprise about 51% of the land of the region (6,728,744 hectares (25,980 sq mi)).

 

Towers of Paine (upper) and Paine Horns (lower); both are part of Cordillera Paine, in Magallanes Region, the most southern one of Chile.

 

 

The Torres del Paine are the distinctive three granite peaks of the Paine mountain range or Paine Massif. From left to right they are known as Torres d'Agostini, Torres Central and Torres Monzino. They extend up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level and are joined by the Cuernos del Paine. The area also boasts valleys, rivers such as the Paine, lakes, and glaciers. The well-known lakes include Grey, Pehoé, Nordenskiöld, and Sarmiento. The glaciers, including Grey, Pingo, and Tyndall, belong to the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.

 

 

Lady Florence Dixie, in her book published in 1880, gave one of the first descriptions of the area and referred to the three towers as Cleopatra's Needles.  She and her party are sometimes credited as being the first "foreign tourists" to visit the area that is now called Torres del Paine National Park.

 

The park was established on 13 May 1959  as Parque Nacional de Turismo Lago Grey (Grey Lake National Tourism Park) and was given its present name in 1970.

 

In 1977, Guido Monzino donated 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) to the Chilean Government when its definitive limits were established.  The park was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1978.

A vertical panorama of the Torres del Paine, in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park.

 

Torres d'Agostini, Torres Central, Torres Monzino

 

Schema of the PN Torres de Paine

 

Valle del Francés, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile. Nationalpark Torres del Paine

 

Calceolaria uniflora, Torres del Paine, Chile

 

Guanako_TDP

 

 

Pterocnemia pennata, Torres Del Paine, Chile

 

 

Zorrito_Chile

South American gray fox

 

Crested Caracara

Southern Caracara (Caracara plancus, family Falconidae)

 

Sendero_Torres del Paine National Park