The Reserva Provincial La Payunia also known as Payún or Payén is a natural reserve located in the Malargüe Department

Malargüe Department

Malargüe is a department located in the south west of Mendoza Province in Argentina. Its borders are San Rafael in the north, La Pampa Province in the east, Neuquén Province in the south and Chile to the west....

 in the southern part of Mendoza Province

Mendoza Province

The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, about 160 km away from Malargüe city

Malargüe

- Transport and infrastructures :- Transportation :Malargüe is linked to the north of Mendoza by National Route 40. This route continues south, entering Neuquén Province, but is only partially built and not well maintained beyond Malargüe City....

. It was declared as nature preserve in 1988 and has an area of 4,500 km². La Payunia is home to the many volcanic cones, being noteworthy the Payún Matrú

Payun Matru

Payun Matru is a shield volcano in Argentina, located in the Reserva Provincial La Payunia of the Malargüe Department, to the south of the Mendoza Province....

 volcano.

Biodiversity

• Flora:

The Flora is represented by matorral

Matorral

Matorral is a Spanish word, along with tomillares, for shrubland, thicket or bushes. It is used in naming and describing a Mediterranean climate ecosystem in Southern Europe.-Mediterranean region:...

es, prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

s, native mountain species and other typical patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

n plants such as Adesmia pinifolia, Festuca pallescens, Grandelia chiloensis, Ephedra ochreata miers, Neosparton ephedroides grisebach, Psila spartioides, Prosopis denudaes

Algarrobo

Algarrobo may refer to:* The European carob tree * South American trees of the genus Prosopis* On Cuba, the Albizia saman tree * Algarrobo, Chile, a city in Chile* Algarrobo, Magdalena a town in Colombia...

(between 500 and 1,300 m AMSL) and Schinus poligamun

Schinus

Schinus is a genus of flowering trees and tall shrubs in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as pepper trees. The Peruvian Pepper Tree is the source of the spice known as pink peppercorns but can become serious invasive species outside their natural habitats...

and Larrea nítida cavanilles

Larrea

Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...

(between 1,800 and 2,850 m AMSL).

• Fauna:

Over 70 animal species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 have been documented on the reserve. Common bird species include the Andean condor Vultur gryphus, Darwin's rhea Rhea pennata, and flamingo. Reptiles include venomous snakes such as the Patagonian pit viper Bothrops ammodytoides

Bothrops ammodytoides

Bothrops ammodytoides is a venomous pitviper species endemic to Argentina. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:This species has a stocky build and grows to an average length of 45–75 cm, but is capable reaching almost 1 m in total...

and crossed pit viper Bothrops alternatus

Bothrops alternatus

Bothrops alternatus is a venomous pitviper species found in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Within its range, it is an important cause of snakebite. The specific name, which is Latin for "alternating", is apparently a reference to the staggered markings along the body...

. Predators include the mountain lion Puma concolor, South American gray fox Pseudalopex griseus, culpeo fox Lycalopex culpaeus

Culpeo

The culpeo , sometimes known as the culpeo zorro or Andean fox , is a South American species of wild dog. It is the second largest native canid on the continent after the maned wolf. In its appearance it bears many similarities to the widely recognized red fox...

and pampas cat Leopardus pajeros

Pampas Cat

The Colocolo is a small spotted and striped cat native to the west Andean slope in central and northern Chile. Until recently it included the more widespread Pampas Cat and Pantanal Cat , and some maintain these as subspecies of the Colocolo...

. Other mammals include a large rodent, the plains viscacha Lagostomus maximus

Plains Viscacha

The Plains Viscacha or plains vizcacha is a species of rodent in the Chinchillidae family. It is the only living species within the genus Lagostomus. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The plains viscacha is the largest species of the family Chinchillidae...

, and the largest native animal on the reserve, the guanaco Lama guanicoe. A cooperative of around 20 families, Cooperativa Payun Matru, live on the reserve. They round up the wild guanaco every year and shear the animals for their fur. The annual round up is monitored by the Wildlife Conservation Society

Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...

, and wool and yarn are exported abroad.

Geography

The area is covered by many small volcanoes, and the biggest are Payún Matrú, Payún Liso and Santa María. Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...

 forms a black terrain known as Pampas Negras (Spanish: Black Pampas).

The Grande River

Grande River (Argentina)

The Grande River is a river located in Malargüe Department to the south of Mendoza Province, Argentina. It arises in the confluence of the rivers Cobre and Tordillo on the Andes range near Chile and ends at the Colorado River in the Neuquén Province border. Its total length is 275 km...

 flows in the zone across volcanic rocks cracks.

External links

Volcanes de Reserva at Página/12

Página/12

Página/12 is a newspaper based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Página/12 was founded on May 25, 1987, by journalist Jorge Lanata in association with writer Osvaldo Soriano and investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky...

La Payunia description and video Accesses La Payunia Reserve