The Del Viento Pass (''Paso del Viento'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

located in the disputed area between Chile and Argentina in the

Southern Patagonian Ice Field The Southern Patagonian Ice Field (), located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Chile and Argentina, is the world's second largest contiguous extrapolar ice field. It is the bigger of two remnant parts of the Patagonian Ice Sheet, which c ...

. The pass connects the ice field with the Argentine town of

El Chaltén El Chaltén is a small mountain village in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is located on the riverside of Rio de las Vueltas, within the Los Glaciares National Park (section ''Reserva Nacional Zona Viedma'') near the base of Cerro Torre and ...

. On the Chilean side, it is part of the

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park Bernardo O'Higgins National Park () is the largest of the protected areas in Chile, covering an area of , in both the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region, Aysén and Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region, Magallanes and Antárti ...

in the Natales commune,

Última Esperanza Province Última Esperanza (, meaning "Province of the Last Hope") is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena. The capital is Puerto Natales and it is named after Última Esperanza Sound. A section of it ...

Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region () or Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica Region in English, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and sec ...

, while on the Argentine side, it is part of the

Los Glaciares National Park Los Glaciares National Park () is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The park covers an area of , making it the largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937, it hosts a representative sample of Mage ...

located in the

Lago Argentino Department Lago Argentino Department is a Departments of Argentina, department in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It has a population of 7,500 (2001) and an area of 37,292 km2. The seat of the department is in El Calafate ...

in the Santa Cruz Province. Prior to the 1998 agreement between the two countries, the area was considered a

border crossing Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

between the two countries by Chile. The location offers the most panoramic view of the ice field, combining steppe, Patagonian Andean forest, and high mountain landscapes. It is located near

Cerro Huemul The Cerro Huemul is a glaciated mountain in the Andes located on the eastern edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, west of Lake Viedma and north of the Viedma Glacier within the Southern Patagonian Ice Field dispute#Agreement, disputed area b ...

and Laguna Toro, with the closest settlements being El Chaltén in Argentina and Candelario Mancilla and Puerto Edén in Chile, as well as the Eduardo García Soto Refuge.

References

Mountain passes of the Andes Geography of Magallanes Region Argentina–Chile border crossings {{Chile-geo-stub

See also

References