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| Laguna de los Padres |
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A riding along the lagoon, with the rushes nearby
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| Basin countries |
Argentina |
Laguna de los Padres is a small lake or lagoon located about 8 miles west of Mar del Plata, Argentina and roughly 2 from the Sierra de los Padres hills. It has a length of 6884 feet and a width of 5670. Its water is shallow and the aquatic flora (algae, rushes and another species like the gambarussa) overpopulates the muddy bottom. Woods of eucalyptus and laurel surround the adjacent area, as well as some aboriginal shrub, like the curro. Sport fishing is the main recreational activity, and there is a wharf for row boats. The lagoon also hosted rowing events during the Pan American Games of 1995. Near the main entrance there is a reconstruction of the ancient Jesuit Mision of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, founded in 1746 and abandoned under native tribes' pressure five years later. Indeed, the name of the lagoon as well as of the hills nearby has its origins in the Jesuit Fathers (Padres) attempting to evangelize the region. The lagoon was known as Laguna de las Cabrillas (Lagoon of the goats) in the Spanish maps of that time. Close to the place there is a farmhouse, now a Museum, where lived briefly during his childhood José Hernández, author of the gaucho's national poem Martin Fierro.
