Icalma Lake
Location of lake in Chile
Location of lake in Chile
Icalma Lake
Coordinates38°48′S 71°17′W / 38.800°S 71.283°W / -38.800; -71.283
Primary inflowsHuillinco and Icalma rivers
Primary outflowsRukanuco River
Catchment area150 km2 (58 sq mi)[1]
Basin countriesChile
Max. length9 kilometres (5.6 mi)
Max. width2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi)
Surface area9.8 square kilometres (2,400 acres)
Average depth66 m (217 ft)[1]
Max. depth135 m (443 ft)[1]
Water volume.6 cubic kilometres (490,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation1,150 m (3,770 ft)[1]
References[1]

Icalma Lake is a lake of glacial origin located in the Andes of the La Araucanía Region of Chile. A hamlet on the southern shore of the lake is also called Icalma. About 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the hamlet is Icalma Pass, 1,307 metres (4,288 ft) in elevation and on the border with Argentina. The pass is traversed by a road, unpaved in Chile in 2017 and sometimes impassable during the Southern Hemisphere winter due to heavy snows.[2] Icalma Airport is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) northeast of the hamlet.

Icalma Lake is connected to the Laguna Chica de Icalma (Little Lake of Icalma) by a short stream about 300 metres (980 ft) long. The two lakes together have a surface area of 11.7 square kilometres (2,900 acres).[1] Icalma Lake drains northeastwards by way of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long river named Rukanuco. Icalma Lake and nearby Galletué Lake are the sources of the Bio Bio River.[1]

The outlet from Lake Icalma, one of the two sources of the Bio Bio River.

Flora and Fauna

The most abundant species of fish in the lake is the brown trout. The lake also has a population of rainbow trout. Neither species is native to Chile.[3]

The lake and village are in the ecoregion of the Valdivian Temperate Rain Forest. The monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) locally called "pehuen" is the most distinctive of the tree species in the forest.[4]

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Icalma has an oceanic climate, designated Csb. Under the Trewartha climate classification the climate is Crlk: mild summers, cool winters, and humid.

Climate data for Icalma
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 24.3
(75.7)		 23.9
(75.0)		 21.3
(70.3)		 16.9
(62.4)		 11.4
(52.5)		 6.7
(44.1)		 6.6
(43.9)		 8.7
(47.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 16.6
(61.9)		 19.5
(67.1)		 21.8
(71.2)		 16.0
(60.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 14.6
(58.3)		 14.1
(57.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 8.6
(47.5)		 5.7
(42.3)		 3.6
(38.5)		 3.8
(38.8)		 4.5
(40.1)		 6.1
(43.0)		 8.5
(47.3)		 11.0
(51.8)		 13.0
(55.4)		 8.8
(47.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 5.0
(41.0)		 4.3
(39.7)		 2.8
(37.0)		 0.4
(32.7)		 0.1
(32.2)		 0.4
(32.7)		 1.0
(33.8)		 0.4
(32.7)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 0.5
(32.9)		 2.5
(36.5)		 4.3
(39.7)		 1.6
(34.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 28
(1.1)		 34
(1.3)		 64
(2.5)		 87
(3.4)		 200
(7.9)		 231
(9.1)		 218
(8.6)		 162
(6.4)		 99
(3.9)		 56
(2.2)		 61
(2.4)		 44
(1.7)		 1,284
(50.6)
Source: [5]

See also

  • Llaima
  • Sollipulli
  • Bertrand, Sébastien; Charlet, François; Chapron, Emmanuel; Fagel, Nathalie; De Batist, Marc (2008). "Reconstruction of the Holocene seismotectonic activity of the Southern Andes from seismites recorded in Lago Icalma, Chile, 39°S" (PDF). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 259 (2–3): 301–322. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.10.013. hdl:1912/2176.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 , El Sistema Fluvial Río Bío-Bío: Area de Aplicación del Modelo
  2. ↑ "Paso Icalma," http://www.dangerousroads.org/south-america/chile/5277-paso-icalma.html, accessed 17 Apr 2018
  3. ↑ F. Scasso & H. Campos (2000) Pelagic Fish Communities and Eutrophication in Lakes of an Andean Basin of Central Chile, Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 15:1, 71-82, DOI:10.1080/02705060.2000.9663723,https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02705060.2000.9663723
  4. ↑ "Crossing into Chile though Icalma", https://www.welcomeargentina.com/alumine/icalma-international-pass.html
  5. ↑ "Icalma Climate Table"," Climate Data.org, https://en.climate-data.org/location/148729/, accessed 11 Apr 2018
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.