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| Nahuel Huapi Lake | |
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  Nahuel Huapi Lake | |
| Location | Los Lagos Department,Neuquén Province /Bariloche Department,Río Negro Province, Argentina, inPatagonia |
| Coordinates | 41°05′25″S71°20′08″W / 41.09028°S 71.33556°W /-41.09028; -71.33556 |
| Type | Glacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Huemul river Correntoso river Bonito river Machete river |
| Primary outflows | Limay River |
| Catchment area | 3,989 km2 (1,540 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Argentina |
| Max. length | 76 km (47 mi) |
| Max. width | 10.1 km (6.3 mi) |
| Surface area | 530 km2 (205 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 157 m (515 ft) |
| Max. depth | 464 m (1,522 ft) deeper places might exist |
| Water volume | 83.35 km3 (20.00 cu mi) |
| Shore length1 | 357 km (222 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 2,523 ft (769 m) |
| Frozen | never |
| Islands | Isla Victoria [es] Isla Huemul |
| Settlements | San Carlos de Bariloche Villa La Angostura |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Nahuel Huapi Lake (Spanish:Lago Nahuel Huapi) is anAndeanlake in the lake region of northernPatagonia between the provinces ofRío Negro andNeuquén, inArgentina. The lake has a northwest-southeast elongated shape and complex geography with several branches, peninsulas and islands. The city ofBariloche is on the southern shore of the lake and the town ofVilla La Angostura lies on its northwestern shores. The lake is wholly insideNahuel Huapi National Park. It is one of the largest lakes in northern Patagonia. It is drained byLimay River and it is part of the watershed ofNegro River which discharges into theSouth Atlantic.
Additionally, the northwest shore of the lake is the site of an isolated house sometimes alleged to have been occupied byNazi dictatorAdolf Hitler followinghis purported escape from Berlin in April 1945.
The name of the lake derives from the toponym of its major island inMapudungun (Mapuche language): "Island ofPuma", fromnahuel, 'puma', andhuapí, 'island'. There is, however, more to the word "Nahuel"—it can also signify 'a man who bysorcery has beentransformed to a puma'.
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Nahuel Huapi lake, located within theNahuel Huapi National Park, has a surface of 530 km2 (200 sq mi), rests 770 metres (2,510 ft) above the sea level, and has a maximum measured depth (as of 2007) of 464 metres (1,522 ft).
Its seven branches are namedBlest (36 km2 or 14 sq mi),Huemul (21.5 km2 or 8.3 sq mi),de la Tristeza (18.5 km2 or 7.1 sq mi),Campanario (7.9 km2 or 3.1 sq mi),Machete,del Rincón andÚltima Esperanza. It is connected to other smaller lakes such asGutiérrez,Moreno,Espejo andCorrentoso. The deep-blue waters hold a number of islands, most notablyIsla Victoria [es] with an area of 31 km2 (12 sq mi), andIsla Huemul on the south end of the lake.
The lake's crystal clear waters are very susceptible to climate changes and have an average surface temperature of 7 °C (45 °F); this makes it both beautiful and treacherous.Hypothermia is one of the risks bathers must undertake.Kayaking is a popular sport on this and adjacent lakes.The lake is also the starting point of theLimay River.
The lake depression consists of severalglacial valleys carved out alongfaults andMiocene valleys that were laterdammed by moraines. During theLast Glacial Maximum of theLlanquihue glaciation the lake basin was wholly occupied by a glacier.[1]
The lake has usually a blue colour but on occasion its water have turnedturquoise or green after earthquakes in southern Chile such as the oneon May 22, 1960 and the oneon January 2, 2011.[2][3][4]
The June2011 eruption of thePuyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex, in neighboring Chile, caused parts of the lake's surface to be blanketed involcanic ash.[5]
The dominant species ofplankton in the winter half-year in the lake isDictyosphaerium pulchellum.[2] The remainder of the yearBacillariophyceae andChrysophyceae algae dominate.[2]
This lake harbors severalintroduced, non-native species of trout,[6] includingrainbow trout,brown trout andbrook trout which attractanglers from the world over.
A curious fact about the lake is that, despite being nowhere near any ocean and being at high altitude, it is also home forkelp gull and theblue eyed cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps), otherwise strictly marine birds.[7][8][9]
At the beginning of the 20th century, and following an old aboriginal legend,[10] the rumor of a giant creature living in the deep waters of the lake took up. Thecreature is known locally asNahuelito. Reported sightings of it predateNessie andArthur Conan Doyle'sThe Lost World (1912).[11]
LocalMapuche called another creatureel Cuero (leather) for its smooth skin.[citation needed] The neighboring lakeLago Lácar, has also been the site for accounts of another creature, more consistent with aplesiosaur, with aborigines describing it as asea-cow withteeth all around it.[citation needed]
Members of theBuenos Aires Zoo visited the lake in 1922 trying to corroborate the reports of sightings of the prehistoric animal, but found no evidence to support the theory of such a creature.
Some works, such as theNational Police Gazette (circa 1950–1970), an Americantabloid-style magazine,[13] as well as a 2004 book by Abel Basti and the 2011 bookGrey Wolf claim thatAdolf Hitler andEva Braun did notcommit suicide but escaped to Argentinaalong with other Nazis and lived in the surroundings ofBariloche for many years after World War II. Hitler and Braun allegedly resided at theInalco House, located at the northwest end of the lake,[12] in part due to the estate's remoteness and lack of accessibility.[14]
The son of real-estate businessmanPrimo Capraro sold the property to architectAlejandro Bustillo, who designed the house in early 1943. The plan includes unusual design features such as bedrooms connected by bathrooms (and closets), similar to Hitler'sBerghof residence in Bavaria.[14] Bustillo sold the estate to Enrique García Merou, aBuenos Aires lawyer linked to several German businesses; Merou is alleged to have assisted theNazi ratlines. The residence was later sold to businessmanJorge Antonio, the representative of German automakerMercedes-Benz in Argentina and a close associate of Argentine presidentJuan Perón.[14] In 1970, the house was sold to José Rafael Trozzo, who also bought properties owned by escapedSchutzstaffel (SS) officerReinhard Kopps, who—along with Capraro—had ties to SS commanderErich Priebke. The Trozzo family put the house up for sale in 2011 (the yearGrey Wolf was released).[14]
According to the fringe theory, a number ofU-boats ferried certain high level Nazis including Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun and a large amountNazi loot to Argentina, where the Nazis were given refuge by Perón, who, with his wifeEvita, had been receiving money from the Nazis for some time. Hitler allegedly arrived in Argentina, first staying at Hacienda San Ramón, a large ranch east ofSan Carlos de Bariloche.[12] Hitler then moved to a Bavarian-style mansion at Inalco where he remained until Peron was overthrown in amilitary coup in 1955 when he fled to an even more remotechalet to avoid detection when the new government in Buenos Aires began looking for Nazi war criminals alleged to be hiding in Argentina. Purportedly, Eva Braun left Hitler around 1954 and moved toNeuquén with their daughter, Ursula ('Uschi'), and Hitler died in February 1962.[12][15][16][17]
Citing a former Nazi presence in Bariloche, the investigative seriesHunting Hitler (2015–2018) reveals a guard tower—reportedly built by the same architect as the Inalco House—looking over the lake (situated closer to Bariloche than the house), as well as a destroyed bunker on the other side of the lake;[18] together the two sites (in addition to other possible lookouts such as a wooden building resembling a guard shack)[19] may have provided a panoramic view used to safeguard the mansion,[18] then accessible from only the lake due to heavy forestation and long rumoured to have housed Hitler.[20] Additionally, theHunting Hitler team cited the proximity of German scientistRonald Richter'sPerón-backed nuclear fusion project on Huemul Island.[18]
In a 2018 episode ofExpedition Unknown, Abel Basti secured a rare excursion into the Inalco House, revealing little except for some old kitchen utensils in the basement. Using a metal detector on the grounds, hostJosh Gates located aNazi coin, leading him to conclude that Nazis (but not necessarily Hitler) could have used the house.[21]
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