Simpson River is a
river of Chile located in the
Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The river originates east of the
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 ...
mountains. It forms the western boundary of the city of
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 ...
, which is bordered on the north by the Coihaique River, a tributary of the Simpson. In its inferior course, the river flows through
Río Simpson National Reserve
Simpson river National Reserve is a national reserve of southern 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, o ...
, which is named after the river. In this area, the river roughly parallels the Route CH-240, which connects Coihaique with
Puerto Aisén
Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to:
Places
* El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain
*Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
* Puerto Colombia, Colombia
* Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela
* Puerto Galera, O ...
and
Puerto Chacabuco
Puerto Chacabuco is a Chilean town in Aisén commune. Administratively it belongs to Aysén Province in Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region and is located at the head of Aisén Fjord. It is the main port of the region, a port of ...
.
The river is named after
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations 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 ...
Enrique Simpson
Enrique Simpson Baeza (Valparaíso, 1835–Valparaíso, May 17, 1901) was a Chilean Navy officer and explorer. Simpson mapped the archipelagoes and coast of Aysén Region onboard of the corvette ''Chacabuco'' in the 1870s. Among his feats is the re ...
who explored the area in the 1870s.
[Simpson, E. (1874). ''Esploraciones hechas por la Corbeta Chacabuco al mando del capitán de fragata don Enrique M. Simpson en los Archipiélagos de Guaitecas, Chonos i Taitao''. ]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 ...
. Imprenta Nacional.
Tributaries
The Blanco River gushes through canyons in the northeastern part of Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. The river corridor is a veritable geological wonder with a myriad of canyons composed of dark basalt, limestone, shale and sandstone. There is also the wonderful sight of Cerro Castillo (2675 m), highest peak in the region, thus named because it resembles a medieval castle.
References
Rivers of Chile
Rivers of Aysén Region
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