Nilahue River is an Andean river in Lago Ranco commune in south-central Chile. Nilahue River originates in Cordón Caulle volcano and discharges into

Ranco Lake Ranco Lake ( es, Lago Ranco) is located in Ranco Province of Chile. It is the largest lake of Los Ríos Region and the fourth largest in Chile. Administratively Ranco Lake is split into three communes; La Unión, Futrono and Lago Ranco. The l ...

, being its second largest tributary after Calcurrupe River. The catchment basin of the river receives water both from rainfall and from snow melt in the Cordón Caulle plateau. Los Baños hot springs are located on one of its upper tributaries. The rivers run a length of more than 40 km with the upper southern part running 20 km in north-south direction from Cordón Caulle to Carrán maar along the

Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault The Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault is major geological fault that runs a length of roughly in a NNE-SSW orientation and exhibits current seismicity. It is located in the Chilean Northern Patagonian Andes. It is a dextral intra-arc strike-slip fault. Most ...

. In the tectono-

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

that occupies the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Nilahue river runs along the western wall while a Contrafuerte River runs along the eastern wall before joining near Cerro La Overa. The northern lower portion runs from Carrán maar to

for another 20 km and features the Salto del Nilahue fall. Ash from the

2011 Puyehue eruption Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

contaminated this river and killed many fish. The area around the Nilahue River was evacuated on 10 June 2011 when the river overflowed its banks after it was blocked by volcanic ash and mounting debris. Temperatures in the river have risen by , with more than an estimated 4.5 million fish dead. Chile

References

Rivers of Chile Rivers of Los Ríos Region {{Chile-river-stub