Tolhuaca National Park () is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

created on October 16, 1935, in an area of 3,500 ha that was previously part of the Malleco National Reserve. In 1985, a second section of Malleco National Reserve was also made part of the national park. Malleco National Reserve was the first protected wildlife area in both

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, so the land within Tolhuaca National Park is one of the oldest protected areas on the continent.

Location

The park is located in the commune of

Curacautín Curacautín, which means "Gathering Stone" in Mapudungun, is a Communes of Chile, commune and List of cities in Chile, city in the Chilean province of Malleco Province, Malleco. Curacautín is located 90 kilometres northeast of Temuco, in a valley ...

, which lies within Malleco

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in La Araucania

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southern

. It encompasses part of the forested lower western spurs and foothills of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. Adjoining the park to the north is Malleco National Reserve. The park has an elevation of asl. It includes small lakes and numerous ponds, among them the ''Laguna Malleco'' and the ''Laguna Verde''. The source of the Malleco River is located within the park and Tolhuaca volcano is situated in near the park, dominating its vistas.

Access and attractions

There are two main point of access to the park. The first is via "Inspector Fernandes Road", 5 km north of the town of Victoria, along 74 km of gravel road. The second access is located at Kilometre 34 on the road between

and Tolhuaca Hot Springs. ;Attractions The main attractions of the park include its varied flora and fauna, its views of Tolhuaca volcano and its many hiking trails. There is an information centre, park rangers and picnic areas. There are four signposted trails in the park: the Chilpa trail, La Culebra–Lago Verde trail, Lagunillas trail and Salto Malleco trail

Climate

The climate is cold in the highest regions of the park and moderate in the valleys. Rain is possible throughout the year and the temperature oscillates between day and night time.

Flora

The park's higher regions are dominated by: *'' Nothofagus dombeyi'', known locally as the coihue or coigue (from ''koywe'' in Mapuche language) *'' Nothofagus pumilio'' or lenga beech, a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

from the coihue family *'' Nothofagus obliqua'', also known as Patagonian oak, roble or roble beech *''

Araucaria araucana ''Araucaria araucana'', commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, pewen, pehuen pine or piñonero, is an evergreen tree belonging to the family Araucariaceae and growing to a trunk diameter of and a height of . It is native to ...

'', known monkey puzzle, monkey tail, Chilean pine or pehuén, which is often covered in

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

. Image:IMG 6492 monkey puzzle.JPG , Araucaria, known as monkey puzzle tree Image:Nothofagus dombeyi.JPG , A young Coihue tree Image:Nothofagus obliqua.jpg , The Patagonian oak, roble or roble beech Image:Picada al Frey 048.jpg , Fall lenga beech leaves

Fauna

The park is home to many species of seabirds that live there and visit its lakes. Malleco Lake is monitored monthly by CONAF, the Chilean Forestry Commission, which keeps a register of the number of birds that visit, live and reproduce in the lake to identify species in need of protection. Bird species found in the park include: Andean gull (''Chroicocephalus serranus''), a species of gull from the family Laridae; yellow-billed teal (''Anas flavirostris''); rosy-billed pochard (''Netta peposaca''). Its Latin name comes from the words ''netta'', the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

for duck, and ''peposaca'', a transcription of the bird's Guaraní name, which means "showy wings". ''Netta'' species have a bright white stripe on their remiges which becomes visible in flight; Lake duck (''Oxyura vittata''); Chimango caracara (''Milvago chimango''), a bird of prey similar to the Peregrine falcon, known locally as the ''tiuque''; buff-necked ibis (''Theristicus caudatus''), also known as the white-throated ibis or bandurria; Andean condor; ringed kingfisher (''Megaceryle torquata''), found in wooded areas; Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus''), also found in wooded areas. Mammal species found in the park include the

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

(''Puma concolor''), coypu (''Myocastor coypus'', river rat or nutria), the

South American gray fox The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the ''chilla'' or ''zorro gris'' (gray fox or gray zorro), is a South America, South American species of ''Lycalopex'' (the "false" or lesser foxes) in the Ca ...

(''Lycalopex griseus''), the kodkod or güiña (''Leopardus guigna''). Frog '' Alsodes igneus'' is found only in Tolhuaca National Park, its type locality). In wooded areas, the rare pudú (''Pudu puda''), a small deer, can be found as well as the monito del monte (''Dromiciops gliroides''), Spanish for "little bush monkey". Also called chumaihuén in Mapudungun, the monito del monte is a diminutive marsupial endemic to southwestern South America. Image:Zorrito Chile.JPG , South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus'') Image:Leopardus guigna.jpeg , Kodkod or güiña (''Leopardus guigna'') Image:Magellanic Woodpecker Male (Campephilus magellanicus).jpg , Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus''). Image:Colca-condor-c03.jpg , Andean

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

Image:Pudupuda hem 8 FdoVidal Villarr 08Abr06-PhotoJimenez.JPG , Pudú

References