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"Temperate rainforest" means optimal growing conditions
and
lots of rainfall with minimum temperature fluctuations.
Chile's "Bosque Valdiviano" may be earth's most extensive temperate
rainforest.
The age of the trees and the biomass of the rainforest make the Chilean
"cold jungle" one of the most successful biomes ever studied. More than
half of all native plants in Chile are found nowhere else in the world.
The Cochamó Valley is a paradise of crystalline rivers, waterfalls and
South America's most intact temperate rainforest with ancient "Alerce"
trees. Alerces are of about 40 m high trees, they can reach as old as
4.000 years and are the second-oldest living thing on earth and gained
protection status in 1976 as a national monument.
Climate
This whole area is characterised by wet, foggy weather due to the cold
Humboldt stream, which runs north along Chile's coastline, and the
effective barrier that is the Andes. Average annual precipitation is
1900 mm, though only 10% of this falls in summer. Temperatures are low,
averaging only 16° Celcius because of the proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Geology and Soil
At the end of the tertiary period, continental drift gave birth to the
Andes.
The deep granite valleys were formed during the glacial period. Due to
the relative youth of the Andes and the fact that granite is slow to
erode and decompose, there is only a thin layer of organic matter in the
Cochamó Valley.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, DETAILS AND PICTURES ABOUT THIS ECOLOGICALLY
SIGNIFICANT VALLEY ORDER THE BOOKLET ABOUT
COCHAMO VALLEY, CHILE'S NATURAL SECRET, edited by campo aventura, 38
pages, full colored, photos, english language
Order by e-mail: info@campo-aventura.com
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