Puelo Lake
Encyclopedia
Lake Puelo is a lake
located in the north of the province
of Chubut
, in Argentine
Patagonia
. Of fluvial
-glacial origin, its deepest point is some 180 meters below the water level.
The narrow lake is located in the Lago Puelo National Park
, connected by the small rivers, Azul and Quemquemtreu. The lake is surrounded by typical Valdivian temperate rain forests
, even though on the eastern side of the Andes
.
The term Puelo seems to have its origin in the Mapuche
expression puel-có, (puel = east, co = water) meaning something like "Water at the East", since in fact the lake drains towards the Pacific Ocean
on the east through the Inferior Lake (Lake Interior in Chile
), and then the Puelo River
.
Next to the lake, which receives around 20,000 visitors per year, is Lago Puelo
town.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
located in the north of the province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Chubut
Chubut Province
Chubut a province in the southern part of Argentina situated between the 42nd parallel south and the 46th parallel south , the Andes range separating Argentina from Chile, and the Atlantic ocean...
, in Argentine
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...
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...
. Of fluvial
Fluvial
Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
-glacial origin, its deepest point is some 180 meters below the water level.
The narrow lake is located in the Lago Puelo National Park
Lago Puelo National Park
The Lago Puelo National Park is a national park of Argentina, located in the northwest of the province of Chubut, in the Patagonia. It has an area of 276.74 km²...
, connected by the small rivers, Azul and Quemquemtreu. The lake is surrounded by typical Valdivian temperate rain forests
Valdivian temperate rain forests
The Valdivian temperate rain forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed-forest ecoregion located on the west coast of southern South America, lying mostly in Chile and extending into a small part of Argentina. It is part of the Neotropic ecozone. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia...
, even though on the eastern side of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
.
The term Puelo seems to have its origin in the Mapuche
Mapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
expression puel-có, (puel = east, co = water) meaning something like "Water at the East", since in fact the lake drains towards the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on the east through the Inferior Lake (Lake Interior in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
), and then the Puelo River
Puelo River
The Puelo River has its origin in a lake of the same name in Argentine territory, and flows north-west throughthe Andes into the Reloncaví Estuary of the Reloncaví Sound at the northern end of the Gulf of Ancud. Its lower course is impeded in such a manner as to form the Lake Tagua Tagua...
.
Next to the lake, which receives around 20,000 visitors per year, is Lago Puelo
Lago Puelo, Chubut
Lago Puelo is a town located in the Chubut Province, Argentina, north from the Lago Puelo National Park, and south from El Bolsón. With a population of around 2,090 inhabitants, it is one of the towns that forms the Andine Shire ....
town.