O'Higgins/San Martín Lake
O'Higgins/San Martín Lake | ||
---|---|---|
Primary inflows Mayer River | | |
Primary outflows | Pascua River | |
Catchment area | 12,895 km2 (4,979 sq mi) | |
Basin countries | Argentina, Chile | |
Surface area | 1,013 km2 (391 sq mi) | |
Average depth | 68 m (223 ft) | |
Max. depth | 836 m (2,743 ft) | |
Water volume | 68.88 km3 (16.53 cu mi) | |
Shore length1 | 525 km (326 mi) | |
Surface elevation | 252 m (827 ft) | |
Frozen | never | |
Sections/sub-basins | Cancha Rayada, Chacabuco, Maipú, De la Lancha | |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
The lake known as O'Higgins in
General information
The lake has a surface area of 1,013 square kilometres (391 sq mi), an elevation of 250 metres (820 ft)
Immigrants did not settle in the arid windy area around the lake until the 1910s, when British, Scandinavians and Swiss started raising sheep for wool.
The most common tourist route for visiting the lake is that between El Chaltén in Argentina and Villa O'Higgins in Chile, including a ferry through the lake on the Chilean side.
Water from O'Higgins/San Martín flows into the Pacific Ocean through the Pascua River.
Names
Being the most irregular of the lakes in the area, consisting of eight well defined arms, the name San Martín is sometimes used to refer only to the Argentine side, and O'Higgins only to the four Chilean arms. Both names come from independence heroes José de San Martín of Argentina and Bernardo O'Higgins of Chile, who fought together for the liberation of Chile, and came to be known as Liberators of America together with other South American figures.
The four Argentine arms of the lake, with an area of 521 km2, are individually named Cancha Rayada, Chacabuco, Maipú and De la Lancha, after battles of General San Martín.
See also
- Lake Viedma
- Lake Argentino
- List of international lakes
References
- ^ "Mass balance investigations at Glaciar Chico, Southern Patagonia Icefield Chile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-10-16.