Gulf of Corcovado () is a large body of water separating the

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

from the mainland of

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 ...

. Geologically, it is a

forearc basin Forearc is a plate tectonic term referring to a region between an oceanic trench, also known as a subduction zone, and the associated volcanic arc. Forearc regions are present along a convergent margins and eponymously form 'in front of' the vol ...

that has been carved out by

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s. Most of the islands of

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

are located in the gulf. The area is next to the

Chiloé National Park Chiloé National Park is a national park of Chile, located in the western coast of Chiloé Island, in Los Lagos Region (region of the lakes). It encompasses an area of divided into two main sectors: the smallest, called Chepu, is in the commune ...

. In colonial times the Gulf of Corcovado was a major obstacle that prevented major contact between the Spanish settlers in

and the southern Chonos living in the archipelagoes of Guaitecas and ristian ghost Archipelagoristian ghost]. In the early 17th-century, Jesuits rounded the gulf instead of crossing it when traveling south by

dalca The dalca or piragua is a type of canoe employed by the Chonos, a nomadic indigenous people of southern Chile, and Huilliche people living in Chiloé archipelago. It was a light boat and ideal for navigating local waterways, including between is ...

s from their base in

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

References

Bodies of water of Aysén Region Bodies of water of Los Lagos Region Gulfs of the Pacific Ocean Gulfs of Chile {{Chile-geo-stub

See also

References