Los Glaciares National Park
By:Colman Doucette
What is Los Glaciares and why is it protected?
Los Glacicares has 47 glaciers it stretches 1,722 square miles (4,459 square km). Los glacires is protected because, it has some of the only expanding glaciers in the world. Also it's the third largest ice field besides Antarctica and Greenland. It became a national park in 1937, and came protected by UNESCO in 1981.
The Landscape and Wildlife
Animals Living There
Some animals living inlos glacires are the southern Andean huemul, and the mountain viscacha. Some more animals are the guanaco, Argentine grey fox and Austral hog-nosed skunk. The most beautiful animals in the park is the birds. The many lakes give a great habitat to Black-necked swans and a variety of ducks and geese, and Chilean flamingos hang around near the banks. Gliding above the glaciers is the Andean condors, the largest bird in the world in term of wing area, and the large grasslands are filled with Darwin's rhea, South America's version of the ostrich.
The Weather
The weather at los glaciares national park is pretty warm in the month of Janaury. The range is 7 F to 53 F.
Mount Fitz Roy
Francisco Moreno first saw the mountain on 2 March 1877. Mount Fitzroy is (11,073 feet [3,375 m]) that is the highest point in the park.
Lakes and Landscape
Lakes
There are two lakes in the park – Lake Argentino and Lake Viedma. These lakes go into the Santa Cruz River, which flows into the Puerto Santa Cruz on the Atlantic. Lake Argentino is the biggest fresh water lake in Argentina, because it stretches 566 sq. miles.
The Landscape
The park has two types of landscapes of the park besides the glaciers, they are forests and grassy plains. The ice reflects blue light it absorbs all other colors. That is why the ice is blue.
Fun Facts
On the southern area of the Park, the most famous glacier can be seen: Perito Moreno. It is very famous because of its big changes, which produces a cyclic phenomenon of forward and backward movement, with spectacular ice falls from its front walls. The closest town is El Calafate, center of all the activities.
Its name is came from the giant ice cap in the Andes mountain range.
13 of the glaciers lead to the Atlantic.