The National Parks of Argentina make up a network of 35

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The parks cover a very varied set of terrains and

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

s, from Baritú National Park on the northern border with

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

to Tierra del Fuego National Park in the far south of the continent. The Administración de Parques Nacionales (National Parks Administration) is the agency that preserves and manages these national parks along with

Natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

s and

National Reserve A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s within the country. The headquarters of the National Service are in downtown

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, on Santa Fe Avenue. A library and information centre are open to the public. The administration also covers the national monuments, such as the Jaramillo Petrified Forest, and natural and educational reserves.

History

The creation of the National Parks dates back to the 1903 donation of of land in the Lake District in 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 ...

foothills by

Francisco Moreno Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as on ...

, the renowned explorer and academic in

. This formed the nucleus of a larger protected area in

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

around

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...

. At the beginning of the 1920s there was an amazing revival of the national park idea at Lake Nahuel Huapí, which led to the official establishment of the Parque Nacional del Sud on 8 April 1922 by decree of President Yrigoyen. In 1934, a law was passed creating the National Parks system, formalising the protected area as the

Nahuel Huapi National Park Nahuel Huapi National Park () is the oldest National Parks of Argentina, national park in Argentina, established in 1922 as Parque Nacional de Sud and reconfiguered in 1934. It surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. ...

and creating the

Iguazú National Park The Iguazú National Park () is a national park of Argentina, located in the Iguazú Department, in the north of the province of Misiones, Argentine Mesopotamia. It has an area of . History The area of the park was inhabited 10,000 years a ...

. Thus, Argentina was the third country in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, after

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to establish a national parks system. The National Park Police Force was born, enforcing the new laws preventing tree-felling and hunting. Under the direction of the founding director of the National Direction of National Parks Exequiel Bustillo, a conception of national parks focused on economic development and colonization of the region was developed. Beyond touristic development the aim of the parks was to establish national sovereignty over peripherical areas and to protect national borders. Five further national parks were declared in 1937 in Patagonia and the service planned new towns and facilities to promote tourism and education. Six more were declared by 1970. In 1970 a new law established new categories of protection: National Parks, National Monuments, Educational Reserves, and Natural Reserves. Three national parks were designated in the 1970s. In 1980, another new law affirmed the status of national parks – this law is still in place. The 1980s saw the service reaching out to local communities and local government to help in the running and development of the national parks. Ten more national parks were created with local co-operation, sometimes at local instigation. In 2000, Mburucuyá and

Copo National Park Copo National Park () is a federal protected area in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. Established on 22 November 2000, it houses a representative sample of the Dry Chaco biodiversity in average state of conservation. Located in the Cop ...

s were declared, and El Leoncito natural reserve was upgraded to a national park. Currently, there are 41

protected areas 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. firewoo ...

in Argentina, which cover an area of or about 1.5% of the total land area in Argentina.

Map

National Parks

References

External links

National Parks Administration
(Spanish/English) {{South America in topic, List of national parks of, countries_only=yes

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

History

Map

National Parks

See also

References

External links