Tierra del Fuego National Park
Our last major trip of the study abroad experience was to the national park of Tierra del Fuego. Unlike the forest in the mountains where we conducted the study, where the only tree species was the Southern beech, the national park had many different species of trees and other types of plants. We saw several different parts of the forest that were in different successional stages, and starkly contrasted each other. We also walked along the coast and saw several species of ducks, and even some cormorants. Within the forest we saw a few parakeets and some large hawks.
	Across from Lake Roca, pictured here, is Chile. There is a great deal of tension between Chile and Argentina. It is so severe that most people would not even agree to talk to us about it.
Seen here is the Chilean fire-bush (Embothrium coccineum) that grows on the forest edge and in disturbed areas.
	Several decades ago, beavers were introduced to the area in hopes of starting a fur trade. The idea never came to fruition, and the 25 pairs that were originally introduced multiplied to over 50,000 animals, greater then the population of Ushuaia.
The peat bogs are common to the landscape. They are composed of dead plant material, mainly sphagnum moss, and the acidic environment does not allow for decomposition, and under the weight of the upper layers and the lack of oxygen, rich deposits of peat are formed.