El Calafate, also called ''Calafate'', is a city in the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Santa Cruz, in

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. It is located on the southern border of Lago Argentino, in the southwest part of the province (about northwest of Río Gallegos). The name of the city is also the name of a small bush, with yellow flowers and dark-blue

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

, that is very commonly seen in the region—the calafate (''Berberis buxifolia''). The word comes from the word , which is Spanish for '

caulk Caulk (also known as caulking and calking) is a material used to Seal (mechanical), seal Joint (building), joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into ...

'. El Calafate is an important tourist destination, serving as the hub for visitors of different parts of Los Glaciares National Park, Perito Moreno Glacier, Cerro Chaltén, and Cerro Torre, in addition to the area surrounding Lago Argentino.

History

The modern history of El Calafate began in the initial decades of the 20th century, when the area was simply a sheltering place for

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

traders. The town was officially founded in 1927 by the

government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...

in a bid to promote settlement, but it was the creation of nearby Perito Moreno National Park (1937) that sparked growth and the building of better road access. Over the course of the 20th century, increased international travel (and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

, in particular) fueled

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

growth to the area, and raised the population by tens of thousands.

Transport

The 220 kilometers separating Calafate from El Chaltén on the other side of the Lake Argentino in the national park are paved, as well as the 315 kilometres to Río Gallegos. Other distances are: to Bariloche 1400 km; to Esquel 1108 km (some dirt road); Comodoro Rivadavia 959 km; Puerto Madryn 1388 km;

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

2727 km;

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

863 km. Calafate is served by El Calafate International Airport located some 20 km to the east of the city.

Population

There were 6,410 permanent residents were counted in the (). This represents a 106% increase compared with the 1991 census of 3,101. However, due to the expansion of tourism, the population was 18,896 in 2010 and 28,766 in 2020. According to the 2022 census, it has since dropped to 25,172. It is also referred to as "Lago Argentino" in 2022 and earlier census documents.

Wildlife

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...

s (Phoenicopterus chilensis) are regularly visible from El Calafate congregating in the waters of Lago Argentino at the north shoreline near Estancia La Querencia.

Climate

El Calafate experiences a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'') with cool to warm, very dry summers and cool to cold, slightly wetter winters. The city's extremes of cold and heat are moderated by the influence of Lago Argentino. The waterfront of the city is located on a large shallow bay that is often frozen in the winter, allowing residents to practice ice skating. The highest temperature recorded was on February 6, 1962 while the lowest recorded temperature was on July 27, 2014.

Attractions

El Calafate is the nearest city to the Perito Moreno Glacier, located 80 km away at Los Glaciares National Park. It's the most important tourist attraction thanks to its location and variety of activities available, such as sightseeing, walking (there are also wheelchair ramps), walking on top of the glacier, sailing, and kayaking. Other attractions in El Calafate are Laguna Nimez nature preserve, where it's possible to do birdwatching and observe local fauna and flora; 4x4 vehicle excursions to Cerro Frías, Cerro Huyliche and La Leona petrified forest and Punta Walichu (archaeological sites); several farms which showcase traditional activities (sheep herding, shearing, horseback riding, Argentine barbecue, among others); Glaciarium, a museum that focuses on ice and glaciers, especially in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. For a variety of trekking tours, tourists often travel to the nearby town of El Chaltén, considered the National Trekking Capital.

Interesting facts

The most recent World Altitude Gliding record of 22,657 m (74,333 ft) was set near El Calafate on 2 September 2018 by Jim Payne and Tim Gardner in the new Perlan 2 glider (with pressurised cabin). A previous

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

altitude record of 15,460 m (50,722 feet) was set near El Calafate on 29 August 2006 by

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

and Einar Enevoldson in their 'Perlan' high altitude research glider. This record has been certified by the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

. The town was on the path of the total solar eclipse of July 11, 2010, occurring just before sunset. El Calafate was featured in the Top Gear Patagonia Special, in which the presenters drove from Bariloche to Ushuaia.

Notes

References

External links

Elcalafate.gov.ar
Official government site
Glaciarium Website
{{Authority control Populated places in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Populated places established in 1927 Tourist attractions in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Calafate Cities in Argentina