Pampa Alta Pass (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Paso Pampa Alta''), also known as Puesto Viejo (''Old Post''), is a boundary pass 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 ...

, joining Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region and

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes ra ...

. The elevation of the pass is 865 metres (2,838 feet) above sea level. The pathway in this locality is a

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unite ...

and traffic is allowed between 8 am and 8 pm in winter and between 8 am and 10 pm in summer. To leave Chile, it is necessary to obtain a pass from the international police in

Coihaique Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the capital city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentieth century, Chile showed little interest in e ...

. The nearest police assistance is situated 4 km (2.5 mi) away from the pass and the closest inhabited places are Balmaceda and Coihaique, in Chile.

Geography

Climate

The climate in Pampa Alta Pass is

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

(''Csc/Dsc'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

), with drier summers than winters and frequent

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

falls.

References

Mountain passes of Chile Mountain passes of Argentina Mountain passes of the Andes Argentina–Chile border crossings Landforms of Aysén Region Landforms of Chubut Province {{Chubut-geo-stub