Última Esperanza Sound (, ‘Last Hope Sound’ or 'Inlet of Last Hope') is an

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

stretching from the mouth of Eberhard Fjord to the outskirts of Monte Balmaceda, within the

Magallanes Basin The Magallanes Basin or Austral Basin is a major sedimentary basin in southern Patagonia. The basin covers a surface of about and has a NNW-SSE oriented shape. The basin is bounded to the west by the Andes mountains and is separated from the Mal ...

. The navigator

Juan Ladrillero Juan Ladrillero (b. c. 1490 in Moguer – 1574) was a 16th-century Spanish navigator and explorer who from 1557 to 1559 explored the coast of Chile from Valdivia (39° 48’ S) to the Barbara Channel (54° S, between Clarence Island and Santa ...

named it so in 1557, because he felt it was this direction was his last chance to reach the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

. The inlet ends at a glacier, and not at the strait. This inlet is tidal, and drains an extensive basin. It receives the waters of almost all the surface waters of

Torres del Paine National Park Torres del Paine National Park () is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the park's centerpiece. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpo ...

through the Serrano River. The sound occupies a valley carved by

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

action. During the last glacial period glaciers reached their

maximum In mathematical analysis, the maximum and minimum of a function (mathematics), function are, respectively, the greatest and least value taken by the function. Known generically as extremum, they may be defined either within a given Interval (ma ...

extent in Última Esperanza Sound about 48,000 years ago. Last Hope Sound along with the Señoret Channel forms a navigation route, which connects

Puerto Natales Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of ...

with several protected areas of the region. In the vicinity of the Eberhard Fjord is located

Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is a Natural Monument located in the Chilean Patagonia, northwest of Puerto Natales and north of Punta Arenas. The monument is situated along the flanks of Cerro Benitez. It comprises several cave ...

, where remains have been recovered of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

ground sloth Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. They varied widely in size with the largest, belonging to genera '' Lestodon'', ''Eremotherium'' and ''Megatherium'', being around the size of elephants. ...

along with a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

of prehistoric humans.C.M.Hogan, 2008

References

* Bailey Willis (1914) Argentina Dirección General de Ferrocarriles Nacionales, Argentina Comisión de Estudios Hidrológicos,''Northern Patagonia: Character and Resources'', Scribner press, 464 pages * C. Michael Hogan, ''Cueva del Milodon'', Megalithic Portal, 13 April 200

* * Abbey Mitchell (1924) Mexico district General de Nacionales, Barcelona Estudios, lodon', Megalithic Portal, 13 April 200

* *

Line notes

Bodies of water of Magallanes Region Última Esperanza Province Sounds of Chile {{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub

See also

References

Line notes