Traful Lake is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the

Los Lagos Department Los Lagos is a department located in the south of Neuquén Province, Argentina. Geography The Department limits with Lácar Department at north, Rio Negro Province at the east and southeast, with Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Ch ...

of the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers w ...

with an area of 76 km². The lake is the starting point of the

Traful River The Traful River is a river in Argentina. It flows from Traful Lake to Limay River. See also *List of rivers of Argentina This is a list of rivers of Argentina. Longest Rivers By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with ...

that empties into the

Nahuel Huapi Lake Nahuel Huapi Lake ( es, Lago Nahuel Huapí) is a lake in the lake region of northern Patagonia between the provinces of Río Negro Province, Río Negro and Neuquén Province, Neuquén, in Argentina. The tourist center of Bariloche is on the so ...

. It is contained inside

Nahuel Huapi National Park Nahuel Huapi National Park () is the oldest national park in Argentina, established in 1934. It surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. The largest of the national parks in the region, it has an area of , or nearly ...

. This lake is famous for a scenic view from a 102-meter-high glacier cliff which offers a complete view of the lake and the entire valley. On the lake's shore lies the mountain town of

Villa Traful Villa Traful is a hamlet of the Argentine province of Neuquén located at the shore of the Traful Lake, at 720 metres above mean sea level. It is located inside the Nahuel Huapi National Park on the '' Road of the Seven lakes'', 60 km from Villa L ...

, the main settlement in the lake area. It has campgrounds, a gas station, and hotels. The waters of the lake are very transparent and well oxygenated. The irregular coasts of the lake have cliffs and beaches. Fishing is possible both from boats and from the shore. The north shore has good fishing for

landlocked salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...

, and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

Northern arm, “Pichi Traful”

The lake has a long, thin northern arm, known as Lake Pichi Traful. It extends to the northwest of the main body of the lake, accessible by the lake road or by highways RP 65 and RP 234. Upon arrival, there is a park guard station, which provides information about places to spend the night or camp. This branch of the lake is fed by the Pichi Traful river, which contributes oxygenated water. It's an excellent place for fly-fishing. At its mouth, there are beaches for camping.

Submerged forest

The lake contains a dead forest of some 60

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

trees, which stand in some 15 meters of water. Previously they stood on a nearby hill, but a landslide, probably in the 1960s, plunged them into the lake, where they still stand today. Due to the water's great transparency, their roots are visible from the surface when it is calm.

References

External links

Villa and Lake Traful

Picture of the Viewpoint
Lakes of Neuquén Province {{Neuquén-geo-stub