Puerto Cisnes (Spanish for: "port

swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

") is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and seaport in

Cisnes Cisnes (Spanish for: "port swans") is a Chilean commune located in the Aysén Province, Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and H ...

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Aysén Province Aysén Province ( es, Provincia de Aysén) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Aysen (XI). Its capital is Puerto Aysén. Demographics The province had a 2002 population of 23,498 according to the census by the National Statistics I ...

, Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region in the

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 ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. The town is on the

Puyuhuapi Channel Puyuhuapi (from the Mapudungun ''puye'', small fish and ''huapi'', island), also Cai Channel ( NGA UFI=-897934) is a sea channel separating Magdalena Island from the mainland of Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region in Chile. The ...

at the outflow of

Cisnes River The Cisnes River (Spanish for '' swan'') is a river located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It runs in east-west direction from the mountains near the border to Argentina and empties into the P ...

. The town is located in the northwestern portion of the Aysén Region, an area that includes numerous

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s and channels. The major island is Magdalena Island, which contains the national park that bears its name.

Queulat National Park Queulat National Park is a national park of Chile located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The park is bordered by the Cisnes River on the south side and is neighbor to Lago Rosselot National Reserve. It contains of gla ...

straddles the border between this commune and Lago Verde. Much of the commune area is covered with a lush vegetation and is divided by the

Moraleda Channel Moraleda Channel () is a body of water separating the Chonos Archipelago from the mainland of Chile. It is located at , leading to Gulf of Corcovado. Southward from the mouth of the Aisén Fjord, Moraleda Channel divides into two arms. The east a ...

. The main mountain of the area is

Melimoyu Melimoyu is a stratovolcano (Mapudungun ''meli''="four"; the name means "four breasts".) in Chile. It is an elongated volcanic complex that contains two nested calderas of and width. An ice cap has developed on the volcano with a couple of out ...

volcano.

Climate

Location

To get to Puerto Cisnes, you must stray approximately 30 kilometers off of the

Carretera Austral The Carretera Austral (CH-7, ''in English: Southern Way'') is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The highway runs south for about from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia. Carretera Austral provides road access t ...

. The city itself has two entrances, one at the beginning of the city and one at the end. The first entrance has new road which has been redone recently due to the inflow of new tourists, while the other is the original road of Puerto Cisnes and it has more than enough pot holes. The location of Puerto Cisnes is why it has been named the capital of the Cisnes Commune, which contains roughly 5,000 people. It's basically located right in the middle of its outlying Peninsulas of

Puerto Gala Puerto Gala or Gala is a hamlet and fishing community in Toto Island, southern Chile. It is located at the meeting point of Jacaf Channel with Moraleda Channel Moraleda Channel () is a body of water separating the Chonos Archipelago from the ma ...

and Puerto Gaviota and because the region travels more by ocean it has easy access to the other ports of the commune. It's located 196 kilometers outside of the city of

Coyhaique Coyhaique (), also spelled Coihaique in Patagonia, is the Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of both the Coyhaique Province and the Aysén Region of Chile. Founded by settlers in 1929, it is a young city. Until the twentiet ...

Economy

The most viable economic possibilities for those living in Puerto Cisnes are the salmon industry due to the plentiful rivers and also trade. However, due to the increasing growth of tourism in their summer months, many have adapted to deal with many touristic services which include activities from adventures and hikes to personal tours. This also includes services of any type of living, hotels, cabins, hostels and more. The rest of the cities commerce includes restaurants of food of all types, gas stations and a bank. Other jobs include local volunteer fire fighters for the Bomberos de Chile, Hospital Jorge Ibar, police officers for the

Carabineros de Chile ( en, Carabiniers of Chile) are the Chilean national law enforcement police, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. Th ...

and the location of Chile's Navy, the Armada de Chile right off the coast.

References

Ports and harbours of Chile Populated places in Aysén Province Populated places in the fjords and channels of Chile {{Aisén-geo-stub