Pan de Azúcar National Park is a national park of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. The park straddles the border between the

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...

and the Atacama Region. Its name, ''Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar'', means "sugar loaf national park".

Geography

The park is located 30 km north of

Chañaral Chañaral is a small coastal city and commune in the Atacama Region, Chile and capital of the Chañaral Province. It is largely unknown by tourists, who generally head straight for towns such as San Pedro de Atacama. The town has no high rise b ...

and 180 km north of

Copiapó Copiapó () is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capital of Copiapó Province and Atacama Region. Copiapó lies about 800 km nor ...

. It was founded in 1985 and has an extension of 437.54 km² (including 1.1 km² of insular terrain).Supreme Decree 527, 1985, Ministry of National Assets of Chile
/ref> It is importance derives from the relative diversity of species.

Isla Pan de Azúcar

Isla Pan de Azúcar is located 24 km farther.

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos pen ...

s breed on this island. The island can be reached by boat from the mainland but passengers are not allowed to leave the boat.

Caleta Pan de Azúcar

Caleta Pan de Azúcar (Pan de Azúcar Cove) is a small fishing settlement which now caters to tourism. Formerly, copper was worked here and freighted by boat. Divers can still explore parts of the wharf and the loading crane below the water. From here the look-out point of ''Mirador'' 8 km farther can be reached. On the mountain slopes nearby, fauna can be observed which stays alive thanks to the coastal mist.

North of Caleta Pan de Azúcar

From the cove northward there is a gravel road which connects to the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

. Along the way there are numerous geological formations.

Biology

Pan de Azúcar NP is divided into two ecosystems: the coastal desert of Taltal and the steppe desert of the

Sierra Vicuña Mackenna The Cordillera Vicuña Mackenna is the highest section of the Chilean Coast Range located in northern Chile, west of Pampa del Tamarugal. Its peak reaches over 3000 meters. International Geographical Union, Unesco, Peru. Ministerio de Agricultura. ...

. The absence of rain is compensated by coastal mist, which is known locally as Camanchaca. There are more than 20 cactus species in the area, mainly of the genus ''

Copiapoa ''Copiapoa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, from the dry coastal deserts, particularly the Atacama Desert, of northern Chile. Description It comprises 32 morphologically defined species and 5 heterotypic subspec ...

'' which also can be observed in the cactarium located in the environmental office of CONAF in front of Los Piqueros Beach 4.96 miles from the park entrance. It is open for visits from Monday to Sunday from 8:30 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:00.Pan de Azucar National Park Article
in Letsgochile.com The

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

is the main mammal found in the park. Other mammals include culpeo fox,

chilla fox The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America. Description The South A ...

and

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

. The shoreline area is home to

marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their ...

s, such as the

marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family ( Mustelidae). The scientific name means "otter cat", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

and the South American sea lion. Among the birds are the Humboldt penguin and Peruvian pelican. Also reptile species of the genera '' Tropidurus'' and ''

Callopistes ''Callopistes'' is a lizard genus in the family Teiidae. It includes two extant species, which are native to Ecuador, Peru and Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the sou ...

'' inhabit the park. File:2005.11.08 083 Cactus PN Pan de Azúcar Chile.jpg, Cacti in the park File:HusqvarnaSM610 through Pan de Azucar.JPG, Riding through the Valley File:fox pan de azucar.JPG, Picture of a

in the park

References

External links

"Official CONAF website reference (Spanish)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pan de Azucar National Park National parks of Chile Protected areas of Antofagasta Region Protected areas of Atacama Region Atacama Desert Protected areas established in 1985 1985 establishments in Chile Coasts of Atacama Region