Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass ( es, Paso Cardenal Antonio Samoré) is one of the main

mountain passes A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migrati ...

through the southern

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

along the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Together with

Paso Libertadores The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, also called ''Cristo Redentor'', is a mountain pass in the Andes between Argentina and Chile. It is the main transport route out of the Chilean capital city Santiago into Mendoza city in Argentina and s ...

, it is one of the easiest of the Argentina-Chile passes, and one of the few with asphalted roads in the region. The main towns and cities respectively on both sides of the pass are Entre Lagos and Osorno in Chile and Villa La Angostura and

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. ...

in Argentina. From the Chilean side the pass is accessed through

Route 215-CH Route 215-CH is a branch line road going eastward from Osorno at Chile Highway 5 to Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass at the border to Argentina. Apart from connecting southern Chile with Argentina, the road is also the main access to Antillanca ski ...

, branch line which begins at the

Panamerican Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

in Osorno. On the Argentinian side the pass is reached by

Ruta Nacional 231 ''Ruta'' (commonly known as rue) is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs, 20–60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia. About ten species are accepted in the genus. ...

. Since 1974 there is a treaty that guarantee the transport of Chilean goods from the Chilean X

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

to the XII

Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region ( es, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second lea ...

over the Paso Samoré through the Argentinian Patagonia.Articl
Disputa con Chile por la reapertura del paso Samoré
in the Argentine newspaper "La Nación on 4. August 2011, retrieved on 4. August 2011 Chile

History

It is named after Cardinal Antonio Samorè, who mediated in the Beagle conflict between Chile and Argentina from 1978 to 1983.

Operation Soberanía Operación Soberanía (Operation Sovereignty) was a planned Argentine military invasion of Chile due to the Beagle conflict. The invasion was initiated on 22 December 1978 but was halted after a few hours and Argentine forces retreated from the con ...

, the Argentine invasion plan, considered an offensive of the Third Army Corps under command of

Luciano Benjamín Menéndez Luciano Benjamín Menéndez (19 June 1927 – 27 February 2018) was an Argentine general and convicted human rights violator and murderer. Commander of the Third Army Corps (1975–79), he played a prominent role in the murders of social activis ...

through Samoré Pass to seize

. Before it was renamed, it was known as ''Paso Puyehue'' after

Puyehue Lake Puyehue Lake (), (Mapudungun: ''puye'', "small fish" and ''hue'', "place") is an Andes, Andean Foothills, piedmont lake on the border of Los Lagos Region with Los Ríos Region of Chile. Puyehue is a lake of glacial origin. Several times during th ...

References

Mountain passes of Chile Mountain passes of Argentina Mountain passes of the Andes Landforms of Los Lagos Region Landforms of Neuquén Province Argentina–Chile border crossings Transport in Los Lagos Region Nahuel Huapi National Park {{Neuquén-geo-stub