Type Moraine dammed Surface area 1,850 km (710 sq mi) Area 1,850 km² Inflow source Ibáñez River | Basin countries Argentina, Chile Max. depth 586 m (1,923 ft) Surface elevation 217 m | |
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Primary inflows Primary outflows Bertrand Lake and then Baker River Cities Chile Chico, Los Antiguos, Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez Outflow location Baker River, Bertrand Lake Similar Catedral de Mármol, Baker River, Cerro Castillo, Bertrand Lake, Northern Patagonian Ice Field | ||
General Carrera Lake (Chilean side) or Lake Buenos Aires (Argentine side) is a lake located in Patagonia and shared by Argentina and Chile. Both names are internationally accepted.
Map of General Carrera Lake
The lake has a surface of 1,850 km² of which 970 km² are in the Chilean Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, and 880 km² in the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, making it the biggest lake in Chile, and the fourth largest in Argentina. In its western basin, Lake Gen. Carrera has 586 m maximum depth.
The lake is of glacial origin and is surrounded by the Andes mountain range. The lake drains to the Pacific Ocean on the west through the Baker River.
The weather in this area of Chile and Argentina is generally cold and humid. But the lake itself has a sunny microclimate, a weather pattern enjoyed by the few settlements along the lake, such as Puerto Guadal, Fachinal, Mallín Grande, Puerto Murta, Puerto Río Tranquilo, Puerto Sánchez, Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez and Chile Chico in Chile, and Los Antiguos and Perito Moreno in Argentina.
The area near the coast of the lake was first inhabited by criollos and European immigrants between 1900 and 1925. In 1971 and 1991, eruptions of the Hudson Volcano severely affected the local economy, especially that of sheep farming.
A car ferry operates between Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez and Chile Chico in the Chilean sector of the lake.
The lake is known as a trout and salmon fishing destination.
The Marble Caves, Marble Chapel and Marble Cathedral are an unusual geological formation located at the centre of the lake. They represent a group of caverns, columns and tunnels formed in monoliths of marble. The Marble Caves have been formed by wave action over the last 6,200 years.