Nahuel Huapi Lake

The name of the lake derives from the toponym of its major island in Mapudungun (Mapuche language): "Island of Puma", from nahuel, "puma", and huapí, "island". There is, however, more to the word "Nahuel" - it can also signify "a man who by sorcery has been transformed to a puma".

Lake Nahuel Huapi. The surrounding area became Argentina's first National Park in 1903

Lake Nahuel Huapi from space (the elongated, dark feature in the center of the image is the lake and in the bottom is seen the Limay River), North is to the right of the image, 1997.

Nahuel Huapi lake, located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park, has a surface of 530 km² (200 sq mi), rests 2,510 feet (770 m) above the sea level, and has a maximum measured depth (as of 2007) of 1,522 feet (464 m).

The lake depression consists of several glacial valleys carved out along faults and Miocene valleys that were later dammed by moraines.

Its seven branches are named Blest (36 km²), Huemul (21.5 km²), de la Tristeza (18.5 km²), Campanario (7.9 km²), Machete, del Rincón and Última Esperanza. It is connected to other smaller lakes such as Gutiérrez, Moreno, Espejo and Correntoso. The deep-blue waters hold a number of islands, most notably Isla Victoria with an area of 31 km², and Isla Huemul.

A curious fact about the lake is that, despite being nowhere near any ocean and being at high altitude, it is also home for kelp gull and the blue eyed cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps), otherwise strictly marine birds.[3][4][5]

The lake’s crystal clear waters are very susceptible to climate changes and have an average surface temperature of 45 °F (7 °C); 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 the Limay River.

This lake harbors several introduced, non-native species of trout,[6] including rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout which attract anglers from the world over.

At the beginning of the 20th century, and following an old aboriginal legend,[7] the rumor of a giant creature living in the deep waters of the lake took up. The creature is known locally as Nahuelito. Reported sightings of it predate Nessie and The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle).[8]

Local aborigines (Mapuche) called another creature el Cuero (leather) for its smooth skin. The neighboring lake Lago Lácar, has also been the site for accounts of another creature, more consistent with a plesiosaur, with aborigines describing it as a sea-cow with teeth all around it.

Members of the Buenos 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.

The Inalco House near the current settlement of Villa La Angostura. According to the fringe theory of Abel Basti, Hitler would have lived some years here after 1945.[9]

In his 2004 book Bariloche nazi-guía turística, Argentine author Abel Basti claims that Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun lived in the surroundings of Bariloche for many years after World War II.[9] Basti said that the Argentine Nazis chose the estate of Inalco as Hitler's refuge.[9] The author suggests that Hitler and Braun did not commit suicide, but actually escaped to Argentina. The proposed scenario is as follows:

A number of U-boats took certain Nazis and Nazi loot to Argentina, where the Nazis were supported by future president Juan Perón, who, with his wife "Evita", had been receiving money from the Nazis for some time. Hitler allegedly arrived in Argentina, first staying at Hacienda San Ramón, east of San Carlos de Bariloche.[9] Hitler then moved to a Bavarian-styled mansion at Inalco, a remote and barely accessible spot at the northwest end of Nahuel Huapi Lake, close to the Chilean border. Around 1954, Eva Braun left Hitler and moved to Neuquén with their daughter, Ursula ('Uschi'); and Hitler died in February 1962.[9][10][11][12]

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  Nahuel Huapi Lake
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  Sun over the Nahuel Huapi lake at 12:00 pm
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  Windy Nahuel Huapi

• Huemul Project, the Argentine secret research project on nuclear fusion on the Huemul Island.
• Limay River, a major river of the region that is born in the lake.

• World Lake's Database
• Nasa's Satellite View
• Nahuel Huapi Fauna
• Blue Eyed Cormorant
• Bariloche Tourism
• Reevaluation of Cheek Patterns of Juvenal-Plumaged Blue-Eyed and King Shags
• Nahuelito, Patagonian Lake Monster
• Satelital image of the Nahuel Huapi lake(2369x2328 pixels)