Francisco Coloane Marine Park

Francisco Coloane Marine Park, located southeast of the Carlos III Island, expands over 67,000 hectares of sea and land in the Strait of Magellan in Chile. The main attractions are Jerome Canal, El Paso path, Ruppert Island, Barbara Channel, Seno Ballena and Santa Agnes Island with its glacier.

The entire protected area has a vast biological and landscape diversity, as well as geographic and oceanographic specialities partly due to the conjunction of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, strong winds, the presence of massive glaciers and a dismembered Coast. One of the main reasons for the creation of a park to protect this biological corridor that is the habitat of the Humpback Whale (and, occasionally, Sei Whale) during their feeding season. The area also includes large colonies of two species of sea lions, and important nesting sites of Magellanic Penguins.

It was for the purposes of whale watching in the Marine Park Francisco Coloane that the camp was created, and where the participants to this trip will stay. From there, numerous Humpack Whales have been observed as well as Minke Whales and multiple species of small cetacean such as Peale’s Dolphin (a.k.a “Panda” Dolphin). This zone also has the presence, in the coastal edge, of Burmeister’s Porpoises which are the one of the species most affected by fishing and poaching.