por He Chilean natural heritage It includes all the important natural sites found in the Chilean territory. Usually, the natural heritage of a country includes all its national parks, nature reserves and natural monuments that are found within its borders.
Generally, natural monuments tend to have a small territory extension, while national parks and nature reserves have a much larger size. Unlike the cultural heritage of a country, the natural heritage is characterized by having little human influence on its development.
That is to say, they are reserves or places that have not been altered by the treatment of man; they are properties of nature inherited from generation to generation and have usually kept their current state for centuries. Chile’s natural heritage can be divided into three main zones, depending on their location. These are the northern, central and southern zones.
North Zone
Tamarugal Pampa
The Pampa del Tamagural nature reserve is one of the largest reserves in this region of Chile: it has more than 100,000 hectares of land.
The name of this area comes from the tamarugo trees and, in turn, from the extensive tamarugo forest found in this region.
The natural tamarugo forest occupies 2,500 hectares of the reserve, while the plantations of this tree occupy almost 20,000.
Las Vicuñas National Reserve
Las Vicuñas is located in Arica y Parinacota, the northernmost province of Chilean territory. It is located just south of the Lauca National Park.
It is a region of irregular soil that presents small vegetation, very similar to that found in the Peruvian territory.
The region owes its name to the number of vicuñas that live in it. Vicuñas are animals with a structure similar to that of alpacas (belonging to the same family, even) of small size and a large amount of fur, which inhabit cold regions.
The reserve has large extensions of Andean steppes intersected by streams and rivers. The Lauca River runs through a large part of this nature reserve.
Salar de Suirire Natural Monument
This monument, also located in the Parinacota region, is located in the Andean region of Chile. It contains a large number of animal and plant species native to the South American Andes.
In addition, the region is geographically recognized for the high presence of salt lakes. It is mainly a plain interspersed by several small lakes, pleasing to the eye.
It is a unique salt flat in Chile with a fairly high natural value for the country. For this reason it has been designated a Natural Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
Other important reserves in the region
-Lauca National Park.
-Los Flamencos National Park.
-La Portada National Park.
Downtown area
Lake Penuelas
This lake was created by human intervention during the course of the 19th century, with the main objective of providing natural reserve water to all of Valparaíso. In addition, it served to enact the development of biodiversity in the region.
The growth of the area, both in diversity of flora and fauna, meant its conversion into a natural reserve for the country in 1950. In 1985 UNESCO named this area a World Biosphere Reserve.
The lake has become a common breeding ground for bird species that usually live near lakes, and the forest has been replanted several times to maintain the region’s biological structure.
Río de los Cipreses Nature Reserve
This region owes its name to the tributary river that occupies a large part of its territorial extension. In addition, it presents one of the areas of the Chilean central Andes with the largest number of glaciers in the entire country.
This region contains several hectares of temperate forests in its lower elevation areas, while in the higher mountainous regions it has Andean vegetation and biodiversity.
Its great mountain diversity makes it popular among climbers in the region, which is why it presents several man-made paths that facilitate movement within the mountains.
Other important reserves in the region
-Fray Jorge National Park.
-Laguna del Laja National Park.
-Ralco National Reserve.
-Rapa Nui National Park.
South Zone
National Park Torres del Paine
It is one of the most famous protected areas in America and perhaps the most important in Chile. It is in the Andes mountain range and the Patagonian stage, 150 km from Puerto Natales. It was created in 1959 and has 227,298 hectares.
National Geographic named it the fifth most famous place in the world.
Bernardo O’Higgins National Park
This national park is the largest nature reserve in Chile and is located in the south of the country, in the Aysén and Magallanes regions.
One of the main reasons why this region is so important is because of the presence of glaciers. Among these is the Pío XI glacier, which has enormous blocks of ice falling periodically.
Regarding its biodiversity, the region has forests of plants that grow exclusively in cold climates, as well as a series of Andean animals. It is also the last region in which the Chilean huemul, an endangered species, is known to inhabit.
The region has no significant rivers, but the sea penetrates the coast towards the mountains, carrying with it the melting ice from the glaciers.
Alerce Costero National Park
This area was considered a nature reserve mainly due to the large number of biological species that inhabit the territory. Its rivers and basins are an ideal habitat for countless species of fish.
Many of these species are in danger of extinction, so the special care given to them is essential to keep them alive.
Like other Chilean reserves, the Alerce Costero National Park has a significant extension of Valdivian temperate forests.
In the area where these forests grow, several species of animals live that are confined in this region to protect the biological stability of the local environment.
It is an area with a fairly stable climate, which has helped the development of thousands of endemic species of both flora and fauna. El Alerce, a natural monument of Chile, is also within the territory occupied by this national park.
Other important reserves in the region
-Nahuelbuta National Park.
-Huerquehue National Park.
-Malalcahuello National Reserve.
-Villarrica National Park.