Cabo de Hornos National Park is a protected area in southern Chile that was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005,Cabo de Hornos UNESFO UNESCO 2009 - 2014, retrieved on December 16, 2014 along with Alberto de Agostini National Park. The world's southernmost national park,Cape Horn The Encyclopedia of Earth 2014, retrieved on December 16, 2014 it is located 12 hours by boat from Puerto Williams in the Cape Horn Archipelago, which belongs to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in the Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region.
The park was created in 1945 and includes the Wollaston Islands and the Hermite Islands. It covers and is run by the Corporacion Nacional Forestal (CONAF), the Chilean body that governs all national parks in Chile.
History The region of Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn) was discovered by the Dutch merchant Isaac Le Maire on January 29, 1616, and was named Hoorn after the Dutch city where the expedition came from. The national park was created on April 26, 1945, by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture.
Geography The park covers an area of , at a general altitude of 220 meters, with the exception of two major peaks: Cerro Pirámide, which has an altitude of 406 meters, and Cerro Hyde, the highest point with an altitude of 670 meters. It comprises a series of the islands and islets that make up the archipelago, including the main landmasses of the Wollaston and Hermite Islands.The park is the southernmost piece of Chilean territory, except for the Chilean Antarctic Territory which is in dispute."Frozen empires : a history of the Antarctic sovereignty dispute between Britain, Argentina, and Chile, 1939-1959" Digital Repository, University of Texas 2005 - 2008, retrieved on December 15, 2014
Climate The climate in the park is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude. There are no clearly distinct weather stations, but a study in 1882–1883 found an annual rainfall of , with an average annual temperature of . Winds were reported to average , (5 Bf), with squalls of over , (10 Bf) occurring in all seasons.Opiliones from the Cape Horn Archipelago , James C. Cokendolpher and Dolly Lanfranco L.; from Texas Tech University, 1985. Retrieved February 5, 2006. There are 278 days of rainfall (70 days of snow) and 2000 mm of annual rainfallRescate en el Cabo de Hornos , REPORTAJE HISTÓRICO: RESCATE EN EL CABO DE HORNOS, retrieved on December 15, 2014
Cloud coverage is generally extensive, with averages from 5.2 eighths in May and July to 6.4 eighths in December and January.Usuaia: Monthly Normals , from Weather Underground. Retrieved February 5, 2006. Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station on the nearby Diego Ramirez Islands, south-west in the Drake Passage, shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging ; while October, which has the least rainfall, still averages .Isla Diego Ramirez: Monthly Normals , from Weather Underground. Retrieved February 5, 2006. Wind conditions are generally severe, particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is gale force up to 5% of the time, with generally good visibility; however, in winter, gale-force winds occur up to 30% of the time, often with poor visibility.U.S. Navy Marine Climatic Atlas of the World: Rounding Cape Horn, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
Flora The terrain is almost entirely treeless peat and its main characteristic is the presence of tuberous vegetable formations covered in low dense Poaceaes (Gramineae), lichen and mosses that are resistant to the low temperatures and harsh weather. In some parts, small wooded areas of Antarctic beech or nire, lenga, winter's bark or canelo, and Magellanic coigüe can be found.Cabo de Hornos National Park 2012 Tourismchile.com retrieved on December 14, 2014
Fauna As with the flora, fauna in the park is scarce and many of the species are endangered. The fauna is dominated by birds and maritime mammals.La Patagonia: Especies en peligro (es) oceana.org 2014, Retrieved on December 16, 2014 Bird species found on the islands include:Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve A Challenge for Biodiversity Conservation, and Implementation of Sustainable Development in Southernmost South America, Ricardo Rozzi, Francisca Massardo, Andrés Mansilla, Christopher B. Anderson, Augustin Berghöfer, Miguel Mansilla, María Rosa Gallardo, Jordi Plana, Uta Berghöfer, Ximena Arango, Shaun Russell, Pedro Araya & Eduardo Barros Magellanic penguin, southern giant petrel, kelp gull, red-legged cormorant,Nelson, J. B. 2005. Cormorants and shags. Pages 512–14. In C. M. Perrins, W. J. Bock and J. Kikkawa, eds. Pelicans, Cormorants, and their Relatives. Oxford University Press, New York. and southern royal albatross.Albatros real, pajaro carnero rutaschile.com 2014, Retrieved on December 16, 2014 The park has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of southern rockhopper and Magellanic penguins, sooty shearwaters, blackish cinclodes and striated caracaras.
Mammal species found in the park include: marine otter (known locally as chungungo), leopard seal, Chilean dolphin (also known as the black dolphin or tonina), Burmeister's porpoise, Peale's dolphin and humpback whale.
See also Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve Cape Horn
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