Spectacular Granite Spires at Torres del Paine National Park
Torres del Paine or Towers of Paine are three massive granite
pillars jutting out some 2,800 meters above the Patagonian steppe at
South America's finest national park, 1,960 km south of the Chilean
capital Santiago. These breathtaking spires are flanked by the summit of
Paine Grande (3,050 m) and the sharp tusks of black sedimentary peaks
known as Los Cuernos (The Horns). Aside from these spectacular granite
spires and mountains of the massif that dominate the landscape, the
national park also encompasses ridges, crags, glaciers, waterfalls,
rivers, lakes and lagoons.
The centerpiece of the park is, of
course, the three gigantic Towers of Paine. One of the earliest
description of the area can be found in a book by Lady Florence Dixie
published in 1880, where the British writer refered to the three towers
as Cleopatra's Needles. She and her party were the first tourists to
visit what is now called Torres del Paine National Park.
The
Paine massif is actually a part of the eastern spur of the Andes located
on the east side of the Grey Glacier, rising dramatically above the
Patagonian steppe. The highest summit of the range is Cerro Paine Grande
at an elevation of 2,884 m. The South Tower of Paine is about 2,500 m,
while the Central Tower of Paine is about 2,460. There are other smaller
summits including the Cuerno Principal, about 2,100 m, and Cerro Paine
Chico at about 2,650 m.
Much
of the geology of the Paine Massif area consists of black, Cretaceous
sedimentary rocks, its strata showing complex folds resulting from
tectonic deformation during the formation of the Andes. But these dark
mountains are also streaked with pale granite, which formed when magma
rose from the depths 13 million years ago, becoming trapped and slowly
solidifying to form what is known as a laccolith. Glacial ice eroded the
overlying rock exposing these gigantic granite monoliths that stand
today.
Torres del Paine National Park is
not just mountains and rocks. It’s an area of astonishing scenic beauty
with snow-capped mountains, glaciers, rivers and lakes. The Grey,
Tyndall and Balmaceda Glaciers are remains of once much more extensive
system that retreated approximately 10,000 years ago. The evergreen
forests of Verano extend to the west as far as the foot of the Andes
mountains, which wise up to a treeless alpine zone. There are about 106
species of birds, some of which are endangered, such as Coscoroba Swan
(Coscoroba coscoroba) and Darwin-Nandu (Pterocnemia pennata).
The
national park is a popular hiking destination in Chile. More than
20,000 national and 40,000 international tourists visit the site
annually. There are clearly marked and well maintained paths and many
refugios which provide shelter and basic services. Camping is only
allowed at specified campsites and wood fires are prohibited throughout
the park.
Fire has been a recent threat. In 1985, a Japanese
tourist started a fire that burned about 150 km² of the park. Then again
in February 2005, a wildfire was ignited at Torres del Paine, when a
tourist accidentally knocked his stove onto ground vegetation. The fire
which lasted for about ten days, destroyed 155 km² of the park,
including about 2 km² of native forest. In late December 2011, yet
another fire burned 128 km² of the reserve, destroying about 36 km² of
native forest.
