Lichens

El Palmar Circuit - Item N°8

The adaptability of lichens to adverse conditions, such as the dryness and intense solar radiation that characterize La Campana, is evidence of their ability to cope with extreme conditions. These lichens not only play a fundamental role in soil stability and moisture retention, but are also considered bioindicators of air quality, since their presence and diversity are intrinsically related to the purity of the environment. The conservation of this lichen community becomes a priority to preserve both the ecological integrity of the park and its scientific value by serving as a model of adaptation to adverse environmental conditions and contributing to the understanding of the complex interactions between these symbionts and their environment.

The profound diversity of lichens in La Campana National Park is not only of biological importance, but also adds an attractive aesthetic and scientific component to the region. Observing this diverse lichen community in such a harsh mountain environment underscores the importance of biodiversity and the imperative need to protect and conserve these ecosystems for the benefit of scientific research, and the sustainable enjoyment of future generations.

Fluvial Plain

El Palmar Circuit - Item N°12

Around 1634 the owner of the lands in the Ocoa Valley was Francisco Pedraza, a powerful Chiloé encomendero. His property bordered Llay Llay to the northeast, Quillota to the west, Olmué to the south, and Caleu to the east. He had hemp plantations to make rigging and ropes to supply the army that battled on the Biobío frontier. It also had a vineyard, mill, tannery, cattle, oxen and mules.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the estancia was acquired by the Jesuits. Its main houses were located at the foot of Cerro La Calavera, and they cultivated a vineyard with more than 8,000 plants. They managed a considerable amount of livestock, including 1,791 sheep, 689 cattle and another 357 animals, including horses, mules and donkeys. They harvested between 600 and 800 bushels of coconuts per year, which were highly valued by the crews of the ships.

After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the property was leased and remained practically intact until 1822, when it was divided into five subdivisions: Ocoa, Vista Hermosa, Rabuco, Maitenes de Ocoa and Las Palmas. The latter became the Ocoa sector of La Campana National Park in 1965.

In the 19th century and the first half of the last century, the productive infrastructure implemented by the Jesuits was preserved, maintaining the raising of cattle, the exploitation of vineyards, the beneficiation of gold with mills and wash houses, the old hemp plantations to make rigging and the use of coconuts from the palms.

The productive situation changed strongly with the Agrarian Reform of the 60s and 70s, which led to the expropriation of estates and the subdivision of properties, tenants were given a plot of land in the plan, and in addition, a right to a hill. After the reform was reversed in the following years, many of these properties and rights of the tenants were acquired by outsiders, giving rise to a new population mosaic during the 21st century.

Forces of Nature

El Quillay Circuit - Item N°8

We are located at the bottom of La Buitrera creek, a secondary water collector that supplies the Rabuco stream, the main effluent of the Ocoa basin.

Its drainage pattern is formed by primary and secondary tributaries, which join freely in any direction, having the shape of an extended hand where each tributary of the main river is equivalent to each finger of the hands.

You may have noticed that the slopes of the hills that surround us present drainage forms, which are characteristic of massive igneous rocks without structural control. They are rocks formed by the solidification of magma; through a very slow crystallization process, which resulted from the cooling of minerals and the interlocking of their particles.

These fragmented rocks that roll at a slow pace in the direction of the ravine axes, are dragged in days of intense rain and landslides, and are subjected to continuous weathering during their long periods of settlement in each place.

The stone boulders are characteristic of the polishing of coarser rocky materials generated by surface water erosion.

Their finer particles became detached from the layer of gravel covering them.

Boulders

Waterfall Circuit - Item N°6

When you look up to the tops of the hills in front of you, you can see the rocky material peeking through the vegetation. As you can see, there are rounded large rocks located next to each other. This heterogeneous conformation of the terrain is called boulder chaos or granite chaos, and sometimes achieves the appearance of a slope with steps. The chaos of boulders corresponds to a geomorphological phenomenon in which the rocks are being eroded, losing material in a spheroidal way as if it were an onion losing layers. This occurs because the mineral composition of the rocks is dominated by granite, a mineral composed mainly of quartz and potassium feldspar.

The erosion of these rocks is occurring on site, by elements such as rainfall or abrupt changes in temperature, but it is possible that some blocks may break off and move to lower sectors of the slope due to the effect of gravity. In addition, you will be able to observe under your feet a sort of "sand" that corresponds to the fine particles of the meteorized material of the blocks that can be seen up there and that have been brought up here by the washing carried out by the rains.

Waterfall

Waterfall Circuit - Item N°9

La Campana National Park is home to a great lithological wealth. The relief has been shaped by a combination of elements such as the folding of the earth's cortex as a result of plate tectonics, the emergence of large-scale fractures or faults, and the outcropping of different types of minerals. These elements have caused the coexistence of lithostratigraphic units, also called geological formations, of different dates. Among them are the Lo Prado Formation, the La Horqueta Formation, the plutón de Caleu, the La Campana unit and the Dioritic unit.

From the viewpoint of the waterfall you can not only appreciate how the faults in the terrain have caused the outcropping of minerals arranged in columns, giving rise to a massive wall, but you can also observe the modeling work carried out by the water. Surface water is capable of eroding the terrain as it passes through, weathering its bed by transporting sediments that it carries from the headwaters, the place where it originates. However, when the rocky material is very resistant to erosion, the water course will take much longer to achieve its modeling, as in the case of La Cortadera waterfall, a waterfall that extends for more than 25 meters.