Melimoyu National Park

Melimoyu National Park
IUCN category II (national park)[1]
Melimoyu volcano seen from the surrounding waters
Location	Aysén Region, Chile
Nearest city	Cisnes
Coordinates	44°08′S 72°52′W
Area	1,055.0 km^2 (407.3 sq mi)
Designation	National Park
Designated	2018
Governing body	Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF)

Melimoyu National Park is a protected area of Chile in the comuna of Cisnes, in the Aysén Region. The land for the creation of the park was assembled from public lands and estates donated by Tompkins Conservation, an organization founded by American conservationists Kristine and Douglas Tompkins, as part of a collaborative project to create a "National Parks of Patagonia Network".[2][3][4][5]

Located in the labyrinthine zone of the Patagonian fjords and channels, the park is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Corcovado, to the west by the Moraleda Channel and to the south by the Jacaf Channel, and includes a great part of the Refugio Island.[6] The park and its buffer zone is surrounded by Corcovado, Queulat and Isla Magdalena national parks, as well as the marine protected area named Pitipalena Añihué, located around the mouth of the Palena River.

The park was established, among other purposes, to protect the Melimoyu volcano (the park is named for the volcano), to help preserve endangered species, and to facilitate protection of both whales and dolphins that inhabit the coastal marine areas adjacent to the park.[7]

History

The territory where the park is located has been described by several European explorers since the late 18th century when it was visited by José de Moraleda. Its main landmark, the Melimoyu volcano, serves as an aid for navigation on the Moraleda Channel, which was also described by captain Robert FitzRoy in his Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H.M.S Adventure and Beagle.[8]^[better source needed]

Description

The park consists mainly of large forest of lenga beech, Chiloé's Coigue, mañío and Magellan's beech,[7] extending inland from the coast, except on the highest elevations.

Infrastructure and access

Much of the park is only accessible by sea. There are no roads connecting with the Carretera Austral or its secondary roads, with the exception of two segments that are intersected by Route X-12, a road connecting La Junta with Puerto Raúl Marín Balmaceda. In the latter locality, as well as in the village of Melimoyu and Puerto Cisnes, there are people providing local transport services.[9][10]

The park lacks infrastructure and there are no rangers to protect and preserve the park.

References

1. UNEP-WCMC (2023). Protected Area Profile for Melimoyu from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
2. "Cómo la "histórica" donación de tierras del multimillonario estadounidense Douglas Tompkins le permitirá crear a Chile una red de parques nacionales del tamaño de Suiza". BBC. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
3. "Gobierno y Tompkins Conservation sellan acuerdo para donación de tierras y creación de Red de Parques Nacionales de 4,5 millones de hectáreas" (in Spanish). 15 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
4. "Chile recibe la mayor donación de tierras privadas para parques naturales del planeta" (in Spanish). Diario El País. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
5. "How an unprecedented gift built a legacy of conservation in South America". National Geographic. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
6. "Parque Nacional Melimoyu" (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 April 2021.
7. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile. "Crea el Parque Nacional Melimoyu, en la comuna de Cisnes, Provincia de Aysén, Región de Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo" (PDF). Diario Oficial de Chile. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
8. "Crónica de la Montaña Melimoyu". 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
9. "Aysén, Una Patagonia por Descubrir". 14 October 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
10. "Puerto Raúl Marín Balmaceda. Bosques, playa y mar". Retrieved 18 April 2021.