Los Glaciares National Park
| Los Glaciares National Park | |
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| Parque Nacional Los Glaciares | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Walkways heading Perito Moreno Glacier
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| Location | Santa Cruz Province, Argentina |
| Nearest city | El Calafate |
| Coordinates | 50°0′0″S 73°14′58″W / 50.00000°S 73.24944°WCoordinates: 50°0′0″S 73°14′58″W / 50.00000°S 73.24944°W |
| Area | 726,927 ha (2,806.68 sq mi) |
| Established | May 11, 1937 |
| Governing body | Administración de Parques Nacionales |
| Official name | Los Glaciares |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, viii |
| Designated | 1981 (5th session) |
| Reference no. | 145 |
| State Party |
 Argentina
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| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
Los Glaciares National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, "Glaciers National Park") is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The park covers an area of 726,927 ha (7,269.27 km2; 2,806.68 sq mi), making it the largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937, it houses a representative sample of the Magellanic Subpolar Forest and western Patagonian Steppe biodiversity in good state of conservation. In 1981 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The park's name refers to the giant ice cap in the Andes range that feeds 47 large glaciers, of which 13 flow towards the Atlantic Ocean. The ice cap is the largest outside of Antarctica and Greenland. In other parts of the world, glaciers start at a height of at least 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above mean sea level, but due to the size of the ice cap, these glaciers begin at only 1,500 m (4,900 ft), sliding down to 200 m (660 ft) Los Glaciares borders Torres del Paine National Park to the south in Chilean territory.
Los Glaciares, of which 30% is covered by ice, can be divided in two parts, each corresponding with one of the two elongated big lakes partially contained by the park. Lake Argentino, 1,466 km2 (566 sq mi) and the largest in Argentina, is in the south, while Lake Viedma, 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi), is in the north. Both lakes feed the Santa Cruz River that flows down to Puerto Santa Cruz on the Atlantic. Between the two halves is a non-touristic zone without lakes called Zona Centro.
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