Petrohué Waterfalls (pronounced petro-WEH; ) is a chute-type waterfall in the upper reach of

Petrohué River Petrohué River () is a List of rivers in Chile, Chilean river located in the Los Lagos Region of Chile. It originates from Todos los Santos Lake in the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park. At its origin are the Petrohué Waterfalls. Sport fis ...

in Chile, a short distance downstream of the source of this river in

Todos los Santos Lake Lake Todos los Santos (Spanish for "All Saints Lake") is a lake located in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile, 96 km northeast of the regional capital Puerto Montt and 76 km east of Puerto Varas, within the boundaries of the Vicent ...

. This waterfall is inside the

Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park () is located in Los Lagos Region, Llanquihue Province, of Chile. Its western entrance is close to the Ensenada locality, northeast of the provincial capital of Puerto Montt, and from Puerto Varas along Ruta ...

, close to the road leading to the Petrohue locality on lake Todos los Santos. Tourists on the international route between

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

in Chile and

Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...

in Argentina are generally offered a stop for a walk to enjoy the sights. The waterfall is supported by basaltic lava (

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

) stemming from the

Osorno Volcano Osorno Volcano is a conical stratovolcano lying between Osorno Province and Llanquihue Province in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile. It stands on the southeastern shore of Llanquihue Lake, and also towers over Todos los Santos Lake. Osorno ...

that sits in between Todos los Santos and

Llanquihue Lake Llanquihue Lake is the second-largest lake in Chile with an area of about , after Lake General Carrera which is shared with Argentina. It is situated in the southern Los Lagos Region in the Llanquihue and Osorno provinces. The lake's fan-like ...

and provides an interesting background for pictures. The average water flow of these falls is of 270 m³ per second, but it can be much larger during the rainy season when the surface level of lake Todos los Santos rises by up to 3 meters. The water, decanted in the lake, is usually clear with a green hue; however, occasionally, when

lahars A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are often extremely destructiv ...

descending from the volcano are active, water at the falls can be loaded with sand and silt. Transport of these abrasive materials explains the polished aspect of the rocks. Attentive visitors may spot a couple of

torrent duck The torrent duck (''Merganetta armata'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Merganetta''. It is placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after the "perching duck" assemblage to which ...

s mastering the rapids, with their chicks when in season.

External links

Petrohué waterfalls (1040x780 pixels)
Waterfalls of Chile Landforms of Los Lagos Region Tourist attractions in Los Lagos Region {{LosLagos-geo-stub

See also

External links