- The 729,294 acre Patagonia Azul Provincial Park is Argentina’s new national park.
- The park was created to protect wildlife, coastal habitats and over 60 islands.
- The park is undergoing plans to include tourist amenities, including hiking and camping grounds.
For generations, humpback whales have traveled The southern coast of Argentina is where the calving and nursing occurs. Sea lions, Magellanic Penguins, and Imperial Cormorants gather to nest. It is one the most wildlife-rich corners of the South Atlantic Ocean and is sometimes called “the Galápagos of Argentina”—but until recently, many of the animals were threatened by industrial fishing.
This will soon change with the first marine park in the region. Argentina’s first marine provincial park will change that. Patagonia Azul Provincial Park This new land protects an area roughly the same size as Yosemite National Park, or 729,294 acre. This acreage not only protects wildlife but also habitat. the area’s plentiful wildlifeIt protects more than 60 islands, islets, kelp forest, and rugged coastal habitats.
Sofia Heinonen is the executive director of Rewilding Argentina. In a shared press release, she said: “This is an incredibly important win for marine protection.” Travel + Leisure. “Patagonia Azul puts under legal protection one the most biodiverse parts of the Argentine Sea. There are over 50 different species of seabirds that nest on more than 60 islands. These islands have kelp forest, rocky intertidal and islands.
Rewilding ArgentinaIt is a conservation group that buys private land to donate for national parks. They have provided the land which will serve as the entryway of the park. It will also help the park develop facilities for visitors—like campgrounds and trails—and continue monitoring populations of humpback whales, petrels, penguins, and sea lions.
The park was created by the Government of Chubut, the Argentine National Parks Administration and local communities of Camarones.
Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, a new and expansive park, is linked to other wildlife reserves via a scenic coastal road that runs from the Cabo Dos Bahías Protected Natural Area, which is known for its penguin colony, to the village of Bahía Bustamante, the only town in Argentina dedicated to collecting seaweed and mussels.
There are plans to improve the park for the visitors. These include adding hiking trails, camping, a bio station, and access points to the sea.
