Caleta Tortel is a coastal village () in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is the administrative center of the commune of Tortel and is located between the mouth of the Baker River the largest river in

and a small embayment of the

Baker Channel Baker Channel, also known as Calen Inlet, is a channel of Chile located in the Tortel, Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region. The Baker River discharges into Martinez Inlet, the northern part of this large estuary. It penetrates t ...

. The surrounding geography is rugged, formed by a number of islands, fjords, channels and estuaries. The village was founded in 1955 to exploit the Guaytecas cypress ( Pilgerodendron uviferum) wood that was abundant in the area. The timber business accounts for most of the economy in Tortel to this day. Caleta Tortel consists mainly of

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

s, typical of Chilotan architecture, built along the coast for several kilometers. There are no conventional streets - instead there are wooden walkways built with Guaitecas cypress. The wooden walkways give the village its distinctive look and its unique culture.Tortel walkways
Atlas vivo de chile, retrieved December 09, 2013 There is one school in Caleta Tortel, called Escuela Comandante Luis Bravo Bravo, inaugurated by the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

in 1978 it runs up to 8th grade and has about 90 students total. There are no banks or cash points except for BancoEstado clients, but there is Entel cellphone coverage, line phones and access to the internet including free WiFi at the public library. There is a rural health centre, police checkpoint, fire-fighters, harbour master, municipality and

civil registration Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (Birth certificate, births, Marriage certificate, marriages, and Death certificate, deaths) of its citizens and Residency (domicile), residents. The resulting repos ...

Transportation

For most of its history, the village had only air and boat access. Constructed in 2003, the X-904 road connects Caleta Tortel with 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 to ...

. Boat tours to Jorge Montt Glacier and other places are available from the village. There is also scheduled boat service between Caleta Tortel and

Villa Puerto Edén Villa Puerto Edén is a Chilean hamlet and minor port located in Wellington Island, in Natales commune, Última Esperanza Province, Magallanes Region. It is considered one of Chile's most isolated inhabited places together with Easter Island an ...

. The village is served by Caleta Tortel Airport . Río Bravo Airport , southeast of Caleta Tortel, is another nearby

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

References

External links

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Tortel walkways in Living Atlas Chile
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916090257/http://www.livingatlaschile.com/?s=tortel , date=2020-09-16
https://web.archive.org/web/20080412025801/http://lavozdetortel.patagones.cl/ La Voz de Tortel
Communes of Chile Populated places in Capitán Prat Province Geography of Aysén Region Ports and harbours of Chile National Monuments of Chile in Aysén Region Populated places in the fjords and channels of Chile 1955 establishments in Chile

Transportation

See also

References

External links