El Calafate | |
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  El Calafate Location of El Calafate in Argentina Show map of Santa Cruz Province El Calafate El Calafate (Argentina) Show map of Argentina | |
| Coordinates:50°20′16″S72°15′36″W / 50.33778°S 72.26000°W /-50.33778; -72.26000 | |
| Country | Argentina |
| Province |  Santa Cruz |
| Department | Lago Argentino |
| Government | |
| • Intendant | Hector Javier Belloni |
| Population (2022 census) | |
• Total | 22,844 |
| Demonym | calafateño/a |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (ART) |
| CPA base | Z9405 |
| Dialing code | +54 2965 |
| Climate | BSk |
| Website | elcalafate |
El Calafate, also calledCalafate, is a city in theArgentineprovince ofSanta Cruz, inPatagonia. It is located on the southern border ofLago Argentino, in the southwest part of the province (about 320 kilometres (200 mi) northwest ofRío Gallegos). It is the seat of government for theLago Argentino Department within the province. The name of the city is also the name of a smallbush, with yellow flowers and dark-blueberries, that is very commonly seen in the region—thecalafate (Berberis buxifolia). The word comes from the wordcalafate, which is Spanish for 'caulk'.
El Calafate is an important tourist destination, serving as the hub for visitors of different parts ofLos Glaciares National Park,Perito Moreno Glacier,Cerro Chaltén, andCerro Torre, in addition to the area surrounding Lago Argentino.
The modern history of El Calafate began in the initial decades of the 20th century, when the area was simply a sheltering place forwool traders. The town was officially founded in 1927 by thegovernment of Argentina in a bid to promote settlement,[1] but it was the creation of nearbyPerito Moreno National Park (1937) that sparked growth and the building of better road access. Over the course of the 20th century, increased international travel (andecotourism, in particular) fueledsocioeconomic growth to the area, and raised the population by tens of thousands.
The 220 kilometers separating Calafate fromEl Chaltén on the other side of theLake Argentino in the national park are paved, as well as the 315 kilometres toRío Gallegos. Other distances are: to Bariloche 1400 km; toEsquel 1108 km (some dirt road[2]);Comodoro Rivadavia 959 km;Puerto Madryn 1388 km;Buenos Aires 2727 km;Ushuaia 863 km.
Calafate is served byEl Calafate International Airport (IATA:FTE,ICAO:SAWC) located some 20 km to the east of the city.
There were 6,410 permanent residents were counted in the (2001census[INDEC]). This represents a 106% increase compared with the 1991 census of 3,101.[3] However, due to the expansion of tourism, the population was 16,655 in 2010[4] and 22,844 in the 2022 census, thus containing over 89% of the population of the department.[5] It is also referred to as "Lago Argentino" in 2022 and earlier census documents.
Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) are regularly visible from El Calafate congregating in the waters ofLago Argentino at the north shoreline near Estancia La Querencia.[6]
El Calafate experiences acold semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk) 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 ofLago 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 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) on February 6, 1962[7] while the lowest recorded temperature was −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) on July 27, 2014.[8]
| Climate data for El Calafate (Comandante Armando Tola International Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1951–present[a] | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) | 30.7 (87.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 24.3 (75.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.0 (62.6) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.8 (71.2) | 23.3 (73.9) | 26.2 (79.2) | 28.5 (83.3) | 30.7 (87.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) | 19.2 (66.6) | 16.6 (61.9) | 12.9 (55.2) | 8.7 (47.7) | 5.5 (41.9) | 5.2 (41.4) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.5 (56.3) | 15.8 (60.4) | 17.9 (64.2) | 12.7 (54.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 13.6 (56.5) | 10.9 (51.6) | 7.1 (44.8) | 3.4 (38.1) | 1.0 (33.8) | 0.6 (33.1) | 2.0 (35.6) | 5.2 (41.4) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 7.4 (45.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.2 (45.0) | 6.8 (44.2) | 4.7 (40.5) | 1.1 (34.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | −3.7 (25.3) | −4.4 (24.1) | −2.8 (27.0) | −0.8 (30.6) | 1.3 (34.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 6.2 (43.2) | 1.5 (34.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) | −2.2 (28.0) | −6.8 (19.8) | −9.6 (14.7) | −12.4 (9.7) | −16.6 (2.1) | −17.4 (0.7) | −15.2 (4.6) | −9.0 (15.8) | −9.0 (15.8) | −5.6 (21.9) | −5.0 (23.0) | −17.4 (0.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 6.9 (0.27) | 13.7 (0.54) | 16.7 (0.66) | 19.5 (0.77) | 20.3 (0.80) | 14.6 (0.57) | 13.6 (0.54) | 14.2 (0.56) | 11.4 (0.45) | 13.5 (0.53) | 6.9 (0.27) | 9.5 (0.37) | 160.8 (6.33) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.1 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 42.9 |
| Average snowy days | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 20.4 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 46.6 | 51.3 | 58.3 | 66.1 | 75.1 | 78.4 | 78.3 | 75.3 | 64.0 | 54.9 | 49.9 | 48.1 | 62.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 288.3 | 243.0 | 213.9 | 171.0 | 117.8 | 93.0 | 108.5 | 148.8 | 192.0 | 238.7 | 276.0 | 272.8 | 2,363.8 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 9.3 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 6.5 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 51 | 52 | 50 | 49 | 41 | 38 | 36 | 44 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 50 | 47 |
| Source 1:Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (extremes 1962–present)[9][10][11][8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (percent sun 1961–1990),[12] Secretaria de Mineria (extremes 1951–1980)[7] | |||||||||||||
El Calafate is the nearest city to thePerito Moreno Glacier, located 80 km away atLos 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[13] and La Leona petrified forest and Punta Walichu (archaeological sites); several farms[14] which showcase traditional activities (sheep herding, shearing, horseback riding, Argentine barbecue, among others);Glaciarium,[15] a museum that focuses on ice and glaciers, especially in theSouthern Patagonian Ice Field.
For a variety of trekking tours, tourists often travel to the nearby town ofEl Chaltén, considered the National Trekking Capital.
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).[16]
A previousgliding altitude record of 15,460 m (50,722 feet) was set near El Calafate on 29 August 2006 bySteve Fossett andEinar Enevoldson in their'Perlan' high altitude researchglider.[17] This record has been certified by theFédération Aéronautique Internationale.
The town was on the path of the totalsolar 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.
ID 18704
ID 14043
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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