Francisco Vidal Gormaz (July 1, 1837 in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

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 ...

– February 5, 1907) was a Chilean

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and surveyed several times

Maullín River Maullín River( es, Río Maullín) is a river of Chile located in the Los Lagos Region. The river originates as the outflow of Llanquihue Lake, and flows generally southwestward, over a number of small waterfalls, emptying into the Gulf of Coronad ...

with Francisco Hudson. Before being lost at sea in 1859 Hudson is thought to have been a major influence on Vidal Gormaz. He participated in the

Occupation of the Araucanía Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

performing reconnaissance missions in the coasts of Arauco and

Toltén Toltén is a Chilean commune located at the lower flows Toltén River at the southern coast of Cautín Province which is part of Araucanía Region. The commune is administered by the municipality Nueva Toltén, the main harbour and town within th ...

. In 1863, he was named director of the Maritime School of Ancud (''Escuela Maritima de Ancud''). In 1874, he became the first director of the newly created Hydrographic Office (''Oficina Hidrográfica''). In 1884, he became General Inspector of

Lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

and participated in the International Meridian Conference. Because of his neutrality during the

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...

he was removed from his post as director of the Hydrographic Office. He was named assistant at the Sea Ministry (Spanish: ''Ministerio de Marina'') in 1894 and retired from the navy in 1899. While making a hydrograpahic survey around Chiloé Archipelago in 1871 Vidal Gormaz obtained information from locals on the effects of the

1837 Valdivia earthquake The 1837 Valdivia earthquake struck south-central Chile on November 7. Together with earthquakes in 1575 and 1737 the earthquake is among the historical predecessors to the great 1960 earthquake. The rupture zone was roughly from Valdivia to th ...

. His explorations of the southern Patagonian archipelagoes made him critical of the work of Robert FitzRoy and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

whom according to him had failed acknowledge the importance of the Patagonian islands.

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La Tercera - Icarito
19th-century Chilean Navy personnel 19th-century explorers Chilean explorers Chilean Navy officers Chilean hydrographers 1837 births 1907 deaths Explorers of Chile People of the Occupation of Araucanía {{chile-scientist-stub

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