Lácar Lake ( es, Lago Lácar) 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 ...

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

origin in Neuquén Province,

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 ...

. It is enclosed in 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 ...

mountain range, at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. The area around the lake is mostly uninhabited, except for the city of

San Martín de los Andes San Martín de los Andes is a city in the south-west of the , serving as the administration centre of the Lácar Department. Lying at the foot of the Andes, on the Lácar lake, it is considered one of the main tourism destinations in the province. ...

on its northeastern coast. The lake has a surface area of and a mean depth of , with a maximum of . Its

catchment basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

comprises . Like many Andean Argentine lakes, it drains across

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 ...

and into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, in this case via the Huahum River that flows through

Huahum Pass Hua Hum Pass ( es, Paso Hua Hum ) is an international mountain pass in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The pass takes its name from the Hua Hum River that flows from Argentina into Chile at the site of the border crossing. Even though the ...

in the Andes. As the northernmost lake on the eastern side of Andes that drains to the Pacific the lake and its catchment basin were claimed by Chile until 1902 based on an interpretation of the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. The lake, along with the smaller lake nearby, Lolog, has some sacred significance for the Mapuche people, as it features in their oral tradition as part of a creation myth.

References

External links

World Lakes Database

Lacar Area (YouTube video HD)
Lakes of Neuquén Province Glacial lakes of Argentina {{Neuquén-geo-stub