Presidente Ríos Lake () is located in the Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region of

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 lies in the middle of the

Taitao Peninsula The Taitao Peninsula ( Spanish: ''Península de Taitao'') is a westward-facing landmass on the south-central Pacific west coast of Chile. The peninsula is connected to the mainland via the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which tribal peoples and ea ...

. While the lake's existence only became known in Chile in 1945, it appears to have been known by Chono natives, who led 19 survivors of (including Captain David Cheap and Midshipman

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

) from

Wager Island Wager Island () is an uninhabited island in Guayaneco Archipelago, a remote part of western Patagonia. Located south of Santiago, the island is part of Capitán Prat Province of the Aysén Region, Chile. The island was the location of the Wag ...

through it in 1742. The Chonos, who often had a hostile relationship with the Spanish, kept the lake secret from them despite serving the Spanish as

maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details s ...

s. Despite official discovery in 1945, the lake was already known to seafarers from Chiloé.

References

Lakes of Chile Lakes of Aysén Region Taitao Peninsula {{Aisén-geo-stub