Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina
Nahuel Huapi was South America’s first national park. It was first designated a national park by the scientist, Francisco “Perito” Moreno in 1903.
Nahuel Huapi was South America’s first national park. It was first designated a national park by the scientist, Francisco “Perito” Moreno in 1903.
Chile’s first federally created nature protection area was a forest reserve.
This reserve was the first of five protected areas in the general area near Villarrica volcano. The region was depicted by the Chilean born Jesuit priest and early naturalist, Juan Ignacio Molina, in his 1788 map.
Chile’s first national park was created on December 22, 1925 but it did not last long. The area was carved away for settlement just four years later. It no longer exists as a national park.
In 1926, this park was created as adjacent and the west and south of Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park. It was expanded five years later and appealed greatly to the skiers and recreationists of the Alpine Club of Osorno.
To the north of Nahuel Huapi, Lanín National Park was named after the perfectly symmetrical conical mountain said to compare with Japan’s Mt. Fuji.