Lake Nahuel Huapí

Lake Nahuel Huapí, largest lake (210 sq mi [544 sq km]) and most popular resort area in Argentina’s lake district, lying in the wooded eastern foothills of the Andes at an altitude of 2,516 ft (767 m). Nahuel Huapí (Araucanian Indian for “island of the jaguars”) was discovered in 1670 by the Jesuit priest Nicolás Mascardi, who built a chapel on the lake’s Huemul Peninsula and established an Indian reducción (work mission). The lake is dotted with islands, including Isla Victoria, which is the site of a forestry-research station. Its waters are deep (more than 1,400 feet [425 m]), clear, and cold. Lake Nahuel Huapí receives small mountain streams and rivers, and the Limay River, its outlet, joins with the Neuquén and Negro rivers. The lake region was designated the Nahuel Huapí National Park in 1934. The park has facilities for boating, fishing, and mountaineering.