GENERAL INFORMATION OF THE AREA

PN Tierra del Fuego (Tierra del Fuego national park) was created in 1960 through the Law Nº 15.554 and covers a 63.000 hectares surface. It is situated in Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes eco-regions.

The Patagonic Forest eco-region is characterized by a climate that goes from warm to cold, with snows and winter rains. It has a landscape dominated by high and irregular mountains, with glacier valleys and “semidesiduos” forests.

Altos Andes eco-region is characterized by a hills chain and slopes over “endorreicas” plains.

CULTURAL RESOURCES
The first inhabitants


The first human occupation of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego was 10.000 years ago. It was occupied by a large ethnic variety. This situation shows that they related very much with a difficult environment like this one.


In the current Park lived the yamana tribe. In the Beagle Channel coasts and in Roca Lake exist many sites that show an ancestral relationship between the inhabitants and the nature.


The inhabitants installed their camps in the beaches in order to take advantage of maritime resources. They travel by canoe, constructed with branches and "lenga's" wood, and dedicated to sea wolfs hunt and molluscs collection. Through the coast visitors can find the rests accumulated of that consume. They used to live in huts made by branches and trunks and their clothes were just leather layers.


These groups disappeared when the first creoles and European settlers appeared in 1880. Diseases were the cause of the extinction of the culture. Other reasons were the “shoot exercises” of the european explorer, who also poisoned the aborigines in order to be free to exploit the sea wolfs. The demographic information is incredible: at the beginning of the settler's arrival, in 1880, there were 3.000 yamanas, but ten years later they were only 1.000. And in 1910 they were no more than a hundred.

NATURAL RESOURCES
Landscapes, flora and fauna
The landscape of the area is complex and abrupt because of the erosive action of the glacier accumulation process, which doesn't exist nowadays. After much geomorphologic process, the Cordillera de los Andes raised as a group of mountain chains that surrounded a deep forest valleys crossed by rivers and lakes.
In the coast sector there are Lapataia and Ensenada Bays, where precipices and little beaches are intercalated and constituted an ideal ambient for a seaside “avifauna”.
Between the flora that characterized the “Andino-Patagonico” forests, the “lenga” is the better distributed, forming large extensions of pure forests that covers the mountain slopes from the level of the sea to 600 metres.
The “guindo” or “coihue de Magallanes” coexists with the “lenga” in the wettest areas, like in Pipo River Valley and in some mountain slopes in the south side. Over their branches lives the “farolito chino”, a “hemiparasita”, and the “pande indio” or “llao llao”, a parasite fungus.
The pure “guindo” forests develop in the rainiest areas, like Beagle channel coast. There also grows other species from the wet forest like the 2canelo” and the “leña dura”.
In many places the “canelo” is abundant and forms little forests. In the windiest regions the “guindo” acquires a particular shape, known as “arbol bandera”. The prickly bushes like “calafate”, “chaura” and “michay” –which has orangey flowers- grows in the “sotobosque”.
In the wettest grounds grows “frutilla del diablo” and little ferns. During the summer plants with beautiful flowers like "orquideas amarillas" and "luzuriagas" cover the “sotobosque” ground.
Is common to see in marginal areas of the forests “mata negra” brushes accompanied by “calafate”, “parrilla” and “notro”. This last specie, with red tubular flowers typical of the spring of Tierra del Fuego, can be found also in the Beagle Channel coast and in the west side of Lapataia Bay.
On top of 600 metres over the sea level develops the “altoandina” vegetation composed by little bushes, plants “en cojin” and “gramineas”. They develop over rocky grounds that alternated with “vegas” or “malines de altura”. The vegetation of this ambient is adapted because of the wind exposition, the water disponibility and physics characteristics of the ground.
The “turbales” or “turberas” are typical of Tierra del Fuego landscape. Rests of vegetables compressed by the relief depressions compose the “turba”. The “turba” growth is only possible in wet areas, where low temperatures are registered and avoids organic matter decomposition. Low pressure in a less oxygen and acid ambient produced the slowly died plants accumulation that produced the “turba”.
One of the typical herbs that grows in the marine area of the Park is the “siempreviva”, and also grows there little bushes like “chaura” and “mutilla”, and “liquenes” and “musgos” covers the rocks next to the sea.
In the maritime littoral “cachiyuyo” forests, big seaweed, stands out. In the area live a little wild animals variety, composed by twenty mammals specimens and ninety types of birds. But there isn't any amphibian.
One of the mammals that can be easily seen is the “zorro colorado fueguino”. The “guanaco” is an herbivorous that lives in the high zones almost the whole year and only goes down to low valleys during the winter.
Other specimens like the “murcielago orejas de raton”, “raton colilargo”, “rata conejo” and “raton lanoso”, and “huillin” (a carnivorous aquatic mammal from the otter family that lives in the Beagle Channel coasts and in Lapataia Bay) are also present in the area. The flashiest and most present birds in the visited areas are three types of “cauquenes”. They are “cauquen comun”, “cauquen real” and “caranca”, which lives in opened places and beaches. In some occasions they are accompanied by noisy “bandurrias”. Other typical birds are “carpintero patagónico”, “maca común”, "maca grande”, “garza bruja”, "pato creston”, “pato overo”, "pato maicero”, “aguila mora”, "carancho austral”, “chimango” and "tero común”. Usually condors can be seen over flying the peaks and “fueguinos” valleys.
In the marine coast, during the low tide, “diente de perro”, “mejillones”, and red and green seaweed can be seen.
In Lapataia Bay and in the estuary that forms the Cormoranes Archipelago are many molluscs like “mejillones” and “lapas”. Also abounds other molluscs like the “vieira”, the “caracol de luna”, “caracol con diente”, some crustaceans like “centolla” and native fishes, like “sardina fueguina”, “merluza de cola” and “robalo”.
During the summer, in crystal clear jellyfish concentrations can be seen. Also is possible to observe different birds like “gaviotas”, “patos vapor”, “ostreros” and “cormoranes”.

Introduced animals
In the region there are many animal species that were introduced by the man, many decades ago, with economic purpose. Like the “conejo europeo”, “castor”, “rata almizclera” and “zorro gris”. These animals became wild in an environment that is not prepared to support. So that many of them caused serious impacts in the natural landscape. For example, there are many affected areas by castor's colonies because they cut trees to construct their dikes, causing floods in many sector of the forests and many tree's death.

WALKS AND SERVICES
The maintenance is in Ushuaia city. Inside the protected area there is an organized camp in Roca Lake zone, and many free camps in Lapataia and Ensenada Bay and in Pipo River. This Park has short pedestrian paths, which starts from different points of Route 3, like:
De la Isla Walk: It covers across 800 and travels across Cormoranes Archipelago, Lapataia River and Ovando coasts.

Laguna Negra Walk: Its waters present a dark coloration because of the presence of vast “turbales”.

Walk to the Viewpoint: The route covers 500 metres and gets to Lapataia Bay directly through “lengas” forests. From the viewpoint visitors have a panoramic view of the bay.

Turbal Walk: It covers 400 metres up to Lapataia Bay. The walk goes through “lengas” forests and let visitors visit an abandoned “castorera”. It also goes round a “turbal” up to National Route Nº 3.

Walk to the “castorera”: After a 400 metres walk, visitors get to the castorera, where the “castors” constructed their dikes over the “Los Castores” brook.

They're many alternatives to make longer visits:

Pampa Alta Path: It connects Pipo River and Ensenada camps, and crosses “lenga” and “guindo” forests. In Pampa Alta visitors have a panoramic view of the Beagle Channel. It has high difficulty and covers 5 km.

Seaside Path: Joins ensenada camp with Lapataia sector. Visitors can visit the marine coast in Lapataia and Ensenada Bays. It has middle difficulty and covers 8 km.

Path to the Hito XXIV: It goes through the north coast of Roca Lake, which has a glacier origin. It has middle difficulty and covers 10 km.

CAMPING
The access tickets to the camping area of the National Park, last for 48 hs. from the time this access tickets are presented together with the camping permission extended by the APN personnel or by the Campamento Organizado Lago Roca personnel.

The camping permission without the access ticket is not valid for camping.

CLIMATE
The region's climate is cold, wet and doesn't have dry season. The annual media rains is 700 mm and increases in autumn. The sea influence y the west winds incidence during the whole year determinates a uniform climate. Middle temperatures are low, and in winter they descend up to 0º and in summer they don't exceed 10 Cº. Snows, which are abundant, accumulate during large periods in valleys and slopes.

SUGGESTIONS
Remember that you are visiting a protected area, so that is important to pay attention on signs and rules. This attitude contributes to preserve the region and to enjoy it.
The administration suggests the visitors:
-To camp only in authorized places, and not to make trench next to the tent.
-To use heater. If you don't have a heater make small fires only in authorized areas. Use dry and thin wood. Never let fire alive. Before leave the place, put it out carefully, with a lot of water.
-To take bags for garbage with you.
-To ask for permission and follow the instructions in case you want to fish “salmonidos”.
-To remember that is not allowed the entrance with pets.
-Not to feed wild animals.
-To remember that the limit speed is 40 km/h.

CONTACTS
Tierra del Fuego National Park
1395, San Martín St.- (V9410VGA)
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
Telephone number: 02901-421315
E-mail address: tierradelfuego@apn,.gov.ar

Administración de Parques Nacionales
690, Santa Fe St. (1059)- Buenos Aires
Telephone numbers: (011) 4311-6633/0303
E-mail address: informes@apn.gov.ar