The geography of Argentina describes the geographic features of Argentina, a country located in Southern South America. Bordered by the Andes in the west and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, neighbouring countries are Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast.
Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay, while Torres means "towers".
The protected areas of Chile are areas that have natural beauty or significant historical value protected by the government of Chile. These protected areas cover over 140,000 km2 (54,054 sq mi), which is 19% of the territory of Chile. The National System of Protected Wild Areas is regulated by law #18,362 passed in 1984, and administered by the National Forest Corporation (CONAF).
Laguna del Laja National Park is a national park of Chile located in the Andes, between 37°22’ and 37°28’ south latitude and 71°16’ and 71°26’ west longitude.
Nevado Tres Cruces National Park is a national park located in the Atacama Region of Chile, east of Copiapó. It includes Laguna Santa Rosa, Laguna del Negro Francisco, and a part of the Salar de Maricunga. The park is divided into two zones, the northern zone encompassing the southern portion of Salar de Maricunga and Laguna Santa Rosa, and the southern area the Laguna del Negro Francisco. The park is named after Nevado Tres Cruces, which dominates the landscape of the area. The park is managed by the Corporación Nacional Forestal, which offers two refuges in the area: one at the south of Negro Francisco Lagoon and other at the west of Santa Rosa Lagoon. The park is open from October to April.
Tolhuaca National Park is a Protected Area created on October 16, 1935, in an area of 3,500 ha that was previously part of the Malleco National Reserve. In 1985, a second section of Malleco National Reserve was also made part of the national park. Malleco National Reserve was the first protected wildlife area in both Chile and South America, so the land within Tolhuaca National Park is one of the oldest protected areas on the continent.
Los Flamencos National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta Region of northern Chile. The reserve covers a total area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi) in the Central Andean dry puna ecoregion and consists of seven separate sections.
Zapaleri is a volcano whose summit is the tripoint of the borders of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. A number of railways are in the area. It is part of Potosí Department (Bolivia), Jujuy Province (Argentina), and Antofagasta Region (Chile). The volcano formed on top of the 2.89 mya Tara Ignimbrite from the Guacha caldera and the basement beneath the volcano is formed from Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks affected by tectonic deformation. Volcanic rocks are andesite, basalt, dacite and rhyolite. Late Cretaceous rocks are also found in the area, as are Pleistocene shoshonite volcanic rocks.
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests is a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt of central Mexico.
The Central American pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in the mountains of northern Central America and Chiapas state in southern Mexico.
Tortel is a Chilean commune located at the outflow of the Baker River and Pascua River to the Pacific Ocean. It lies between the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Capitán Prat Province in the Aysén Region. The commune is administered by the municipality in Caleta Tortel, the principal settlement.
The National Forest Corporation or CONAF is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. CONAF is overseen and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile.
The Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve is located in Sur Lípez Province. Situated in the far southwestern region of Bolivia, it is the country's most visited protected area. It is considered the most important protected area in terms of tourist influx in the Potosí Department.
Hiking in Chile is characterized by a wide range of environments and climates for hikers, which largely results from Chile's unusual, ribbon-like shape, which is 4,300 kilometres long and on average 175 kilometres wide. These range from the world's driest desert, the Atacama, in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the center, to the glaciers, fjords and lakes of Patagonia in the south.
Laguna Parrillar National Reserve is a national reserve of southern Chile's Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region.
Laguna Torca National Reserve is a national reserve of Chile's Maule Region. Laguna Torca is 200 kilometres (120 mi) South-West of Santiago, in the Maule Region 7. Situated a bare 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the Pacific Ocean and adjoins Lago Vichuquen, in the coastal mountains. The fresh water in the laguna comes from these local mountains, rather than the inland Andes.
The Southern Andean steppe is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion occurring along the border of Chile and Argentina in the high elevations of the southern Andes mountain range.
Laguna del Negro Francisco is a lake in the Atacama Region of Chile and the southernmost closed lake in the country. It is situated 200 kilometres (120 mi) northeast of the city of Copiapó. The lake is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide with a surface area of about 20.7 square kilometres (8.0 sq mi) and a depth of about 1 metre. A peninsula, probably formed by a moraine and subsequently modified by wind-driven accumulation of sand, separates the lake into a north-northwesterly and a south-southeasterly half with different colour and water composition.
