Puelo Lake

Puelo Lake
Lago Puelo
Location Cushamen Department, Chubut Province, Argentina, in Patagonia
Coordinates 42°9′55″S 71°38′13″W / 42.16528°S 71.63694°WCoordinates: 42°9′55″S 71°38′13″W / 42.16528°S 71.63694°W
Basin countries Argentina
Settlements Lago Puelo

Lake Puelo (Spanish: Lago 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.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puelo Lake.