Fagnano Lake (), also called ''Lake Cami'' (), is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

located on the main island of the

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, and shared by

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The 645 km² lake runs east–west for about 98 kilometres, of which 72.5 km (606 km²) belong to the Argentine Tierra del Fuego Province, and only 13.5 km (39 km²) to the Chilean Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region. It has a maximum depth of 449 meters. The southern bank is steep compared to the northern one, and expands in a considerably wide and flat

piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

from which both levels of the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

s can be appreciated. From its western end, the Azopardo River drains towards the Almirantazgo Fjord. On its eastern end is the town of

Tolhuin Tolhuin is a town in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It has 9,879 inhabitants as per the 2022 census. It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Fagnano, in the southern part of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is the third la ...

. The lake is located in a

pull-apart basin In geology, a basin is a region where subsidence generates accommodation space for the deposition of sediments. A pull-apart basin is a structural basin where two overlapping (en echelon) strike-slip faults or a fault bend create an area of crust ...

developed along the

Magallanes–Fagnano Fault The Magallanes–Fagnano Fault () is a continental transform fault. The fault marks a transform boundary between the Scotia plate and the South American plate, cutting across continental crust. It runs under the Strait of Magellan's western arm, Al ...

zone. According to a Selkʼnam myth, the lake was created alongside 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 ...

and

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan language, Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of I ...

in places where slingshots fell on earth during Taiyín's fight with a witch who was said to have "retained the waters and the foods". Lago Fagnano Hualo

Route

... (contenido previo conservado)

Population, economy and ecology

If starting from the Argentine city of

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 ...

, the lake is reached after a scenic 100 km drive along National Route 3, which is fully paved. The route passes through the canyon of the Olivia River, the Tierra Mayor Valley with its winter resorts, the Garibaldi Pass, Escondido Lake, and a sawmill area. On the eastern head of the lake lies Hostería Kaikén, just a few kilometers from the town of

, and the Khami cabins. Although Route 3 moves away from the lake near its head, it is possible to follow a gravel road that branches left near the inn and runs along a gravel bar at the lake's head. A

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...

allows for the crossing of the Turbio River. This route provides access to Tolhuin from the west. From the Argentine city of Río Grande, the lake is also accessible via RN 3 (105 km), passing through transitional landscapes between steppe and the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

.
From Chile, access is possible via the Route Y-85, which runs parallel to the Rasmussen River, crosses through the Karukinka Natural Park, passes near Deseado Lake, and crosses the mountains to reach the Azopardo River.

References

* Lakes of Argentina Lakes of Chile Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Lakes of Magallanes Region Argentina–Chile border International lakes of South America Lakes of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina {{MagallanesyAntártica-geo-stub