National park Assembles León

The National park Assembles León ( Parque Nacional Monte León ) in Argentine constitutes a representative sample of the coastal biodiversity of the Patagonie Argentina, in good state of conservation, with to the sites of great paleontological value. It has a coastal edge of 36 km on the littoral of the province of Santa Cruz.

The Argentine has 41 provincial marine protected areas, and only one of them - the Park nacional Assembles León in Santa Cruz, which was given by the foundation Fundación Vida Woodland Argentina at the national state in 2002 - is of federal jurisdiction. Monte León is a park coastal-sailor which protects a continental portion from 60 km ²; and in addition to the 36 km of coasts a zone intermarée .

Marine national parks or P.N.M.

The problem in Argentina, is that the country currently does not have any marine national park ( PNM ), of exclusive protection of the sea. In Brazil there are two of them, plus two new in the process of creation; in Chile, there is one of them, and others are projected there.

The surface of the Argentinian Mer profiting from some degree of legal protection accounts for only 0,59% of the total it would be more than desirable that Argentina starts to develop and protect this inheritance, in particular the threatened species. Without prohibiting any activity, PNM must support the conservation of the biodiversity, protect the threatened species and mediums and recover the degraded surfaces and overexploited fish stocks.

The territory

October 20th 2004 the law of creation of this new national park was voted, and this one became the first Parque Marino Continental ( Continental Marine Parc ) of Argentina.

In this area an important colony of Manchot S of Magellan is, including/understanding : 60000 individuals. It is the fourth larger colony of the country.

The park is in the south-east of the province of Santa Cruz, on the trunk road 3 (RN 3), to 210 km in the north of Río Gallegos. Its surface is of : 61700 ha.

It is located on the coast of the " Bahía Grande" with the km: 2385 of the RN 3, to 45 km in the south-east of Puerto Santa Cruz. It extends since 2 km in the North-East from Pico Quebrado, up to 2,5 km in the south-west of the " cañadón Jack". It includes a marine protected area, of 5 km from the coast towards the broad one. It is envisaged to incorporate in it a marine surface of at least the same extension as the surface continental. Monte León belongs to the écorégions of the Argentinian Mer and the patagonic Steppe . That means the lower basins of the ríos Atlantic slope and certain basins endorrheic. The climate is cold and dry with winter precipitations lower than 400 Misters There are strong winds of west, the summers are dry and there can be frosts all the year. Its vegetation is of shrubby type in the form of robust undergrowth and herbaceous xerophilous. The littoral includes/understands high cliffs, islands, rocks, small bays, beaches and languages of sand or Restinga S which is discovered with low tide. The coastal sector accounts for 1% of the Argentinian littoral.

Flora and fauna

The sea is cold in this area, with an important fish population.

The national park contains colonies of Cormoran S, Goéland S (gaviotas), of Manchot S and 20 other species of coastal and marine birds. From the coast one can occasionally observe lions sailor S and Cetacea like the southern Right whale.

Each year the couples of penguins of Magellan migrate for nidifier.

In the island of León Goes up and in the escarpments, three species of Cormoran S find refuge and nidifients: the crested , gray and the imperial one.

One of the reasons for the creation of the park, is to protect part of the patagonic steppe coastal, habitat of Guanaco S, nandous of choic Darwin or '' '', of fox S and Puma S.

Culture and History

A few 10 millenia ago, of the groups of hunters gatherers used the coastal mediums and their resources varied like the birds, the rodents, camélidés, molluscs and the marine wolves or southern otaries with fur. The groups Tehuelche S, descendants of the first inhabitants of these places amplified the use of the territory, developing exchanges with more distant groups. The arrival of Europeans caused great modifications among the populations aboriginals which migrated towards the west, while the territories close to the Atlantic were built-in rural tasks (breeding).

Francisco Moreno (thruster of the system of the national parks of Argentina) visited the area at the end of the XIXe century, as did it also Carlos Ameghino and the father Alberto De Agostini.

See too

the Patagonie Argentina
the Fauna of Argentina
the Peninsula Valdés

External bonds

Parks Nacional Monte León (site of the Administration of the national parks)]
Card of the park on site UNEP-WCMC

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