El Rey National Park

El Rey National Park
Parque Nacional El Rey
IUCN category II (national park)
Cariama cristata, El Rey National Park
Location	Anta Department, Salta Province, Argent
Coordinates	24°42′S 64°38′W / 24.700°S 64.633°WCoordinates: 24°42′S 64°38′W / 24.700°S 64.633°W
Area	441.62 km²

The El Rey National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional El Rey) is a national park of Argentina, located in the Anta Department, province of Salta, in the Argentine Northwest, 80 km from the provincial capital. It has an area of 441.62 km².

The park was created in order to preserve a representative sample of the Southern Andean Yungas ecoregion and transition environments. The climate is warm, and annual rainfall oscillates between 500 and 700 mm. The flora is varied, showing different species in five levels according to height (from 750 to 2,000 m). The fauna includes tapirs, anteaters and peccaries, as well as fish in the rivers, brooks and lakes. The tapir or anta, which eats aquatic plants, is the largest South American mammal, weighing up to 300 kg.

The protected area was inhabited by farmer indigenous groups, the oldest inhabitants of the Yungas, and includes archaeological sites.

Sources

• Administración de Parques Nacionales - National Parks Administration of Argentina (in Spanish and English)
• http://www.parquenacionalelrey.com.ar