Torres del Paine National Park

Towers of Paine

Day 17: Sunday, January 20, 2002
Paine is pronounced piney, locally.
Like the piney woods.

11 AM: We stop for our first view of the famous Torres del Paine — Towers Of Paine.

Torres del Paine National Park was established in 1959, and was granted the status of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978. The park centers around an alpine massif of three imposing granite towers. torres, reaching over 10,000 feet, together with lesser horns, or cuernos, formed of black shale, and a variety of glaciers, lakes, and wild rivers.

Blue Lake Below Spectacular Peaks

The startling blue color is from the glacial silt that has washed into the lake over a period of many years. The lake is so mineral-rich that is will support no life. It is a dead lake.

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