The park’s 656 square miles contain one of the most ecologically intact areas left in South America. The plant and animal communities found in the park are threatened in most other places in South America.
However, San Guillermo National Park is very isolated and difficult to get to. Because of this people have had little impact on the park. In fact, in an average year, only 15 tourists visit the park!
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The average elevation of the open plains in this area of the Andes is 12,000 feet. |
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The plains are surrounded by the steep Andes Mountains. |
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There are also rocky outcrops and narrow canyons. |
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The climate is dry and cold with extreme changes of temperature and almost no precipitation. Summers, which begin in December and last to early March, are warm. Winters are long, cold and very windy. |
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Because there is an average of eight inches of precipitation each year, this area is classified as a desert. The precipitation comes either as snow in the winter months from May to September. . .or as rain or hail storms in the summer months from December to March. |
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Because the climate is so dry and cold, there are no trees. The shrubs and short grasses that do grow cover less than 10% of the landscape. Most of the area is bare ground. |
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In areas where water is available, 90% of the ground is covered in vegetation. Although these meadows cover only 5% of the total land area, they provide an abundance of high quality food for grazing animals. |
