Puelo River

The Puelo River has its origin in Lake Puelo in Argentine, and flows north-west through the Andes into Chile and the Reloncaví Estuary of the Reloncaví Sound at the northern end of the Gulf of Ancud.^[2]

Puelo River
Bridge on the Carretera Austral
Location of mouth
Native name	Río Puelo (Spanish)
Location
Countries	Chile Argentina
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Puelo Lake
Mouth
• location	Reloncaví Estuary (Pacific Ocean)
• coordinates	42.116667°S 71.716667°W / -42.116667; -71.716667
Discharge
• average	670 m3/s (24,000 cu ft/s)[1]

Course

Just 800 metres (2,600 ft) downstream from its source in Puelo Lake, the river enters Inferior Lake.^[3] After leaving the lake, the river flows in a generally northwesterly direction, receiving the waters of a chain of lakes, the largest being Azul and Las Rocas. It also receives the waters of Ventisquero and Traidor rivers. A part of the northernmost border of Pumalín Park approximately parallels the course of the Ventisquero River. Traidor River rises in Hornopirén National Park.

A large northern tributary of the Puelo, the Manso, has its sources in Mascardi Lake and other lakes and streams south-east of the Cerro Tronador, also in Argentina, and flows south-west through the Andes to unite with the Puelo a few kilometers west of the 72nd meridian.^[4] Puelo river's lower course is impeded in such a manner as to form three small lakes, called Superior, Inferior and the Tagua Tagua Lake.^[4]

References

1. "Hidrografía Región de los Lagos". Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-02.
2. "Rio Puelo". GeoNames. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
3. Chebez, J.C. (2005). Patagonia Norte. Guía de las Reservas Naturales de la Argentina.
4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chile" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 144.