Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

Los Glaciares National Park covers an area of 726,927 ha (7,269.27 km2; 2,806.68 sq mi), making it the largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937,it hosts a representative sample of Magellanic sub polar forest and west Patagonian steppe biodiversity in good state of conservation. In 1981, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The park's name refers to the giant ice cap in the Andes, the largest outside of Antarctica, Greenland and Iceland, feeding 47 large glaciers, of which 13 flow towards the Atlantic Ocean. In other parts of the world, glaciers start at a height of at least 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above mean sea level, but due to the size of the ice cap, these glaciers begin at only 1,500 m (4,900 ft), sliding down to 200 m (660 ft). Los Glaciares borders Torres del Paine National Park to the south in Chilean territory. 

Los Glaciares owes its name to the numerous glaciers covering roughly half of the World Heritage property. Many of these glaciers are fed by the massive South Patagonian Ice Field, the most extensive South American relict of the glaciological processes of the Quaternary Period. In addition, there are impressive glaciers independent of the main ice field. The property therefore constitutes a massive freshwater reservoir. The Upsala, Onelli and Perito Moreno Glaciers calve into the icy and milky waters of the huge Lake Argentino, which is partly included in the property. The most striking sight is the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. This large glacier blocks a narrow channel formed by Lake Argentino thereby raising the water level temporarily. This in turn causes regular thunderous ruptures of the glacier tongue into the lake.

 

 

 

The mountains hold most of the humidity from the Pacific Ocean, letting through only the ice coldness (annual average of 7.5 °C (45.5 °F)) and creating the arid Patagonian steppe on the Argentine side of the range. This area is habitat for ñandúes, guanaco, cougar, and South American gray fox, the latter of which has suffered from the invasion of the cattle industry and are endangered. The guanaco, while not endangered, has had a dramatic decline in historic population due to large scale grazing of livestock throughout much of Patagonia. There are over 100 species of birds in the area (condors, eagles, and others). Between the ice and the Patagonian steppe there is a fertile area of Magellanic subpolar forests composed mainly of lengas and guindos. Within these more hospitable areas also live huemul deer and torrent duck.

Los Glaciares is a major attraction for international tourists. Starting points of tours are the village of El Calafate at the shore of Lake Argentino but outside the park, where the park's administration has its headquarters, and El Chaltén village in the northern part of the park, at the foot of the Fitz Roy. Other touristic points in the park include Lago del Desierto and Lago Roca.

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