The Riñihue Lake ( es, Lago Riñihue ) 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 lar ...

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 eastern

Valdivia Province Valdivia Province ( es, Provincia de Valdivia; ) is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and ...

, southern

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 eas ...

. It is surrounded by several mountains. The eastern side receives the waters of the

Panguipulli Lake The Panguipulli Lake ( ; es, Lago Panguipulli) is one of the " Seven Lakes" in Panguipulli municipality, southern Chile. The lake is of glacial origin and it is enclosed by mountain ranges of the Andes, on all sides except the west, where the to ...

by the Enco River, its main contributor. It is the last of the Seven Lakes chain. In the west it is cut into two arms by the Tralcán Mount, and on the east side lies the

Mocho-Choshuenco Mocho-Choshuenco (Pronounced: ) is a glacier covered compound stratovolcano in the Andes of Los Ríos Region, Chile. It is made of the twin volcanoes Choshuenco in the northwest and the Mocho in the southeast. The highest parts of the volcan ...

volcano. In the south the lake is bounded by the

Cerros de Quimán Cerros de Quimán is a forest-covered mountain group between Riñihue Lake and Ranco Lake in Chile. The mountain group runs east–west from Cordillera Negra and Mocho-Choshuenco Volcano in the east and forms part of the border between Futrono ...

mountains. The lake's name derives from the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

words ''rëngi'', "

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

", and ''hue'', "place". In the 16th century the lake was known as Comohue, from ''co mu'', "with water", and ''hue'', "place".

The Riñihuazo

The Riñihue lake became famous after an event known as the "Riñihuazo", which threatened to destroy several towns, villages and cities in southern Chile. During the

Great Chilean earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...

a landslide near the Tralcan Mount dammed the Riñihue Lake. As the water levels of Riñihue rose more than 20 meters, the dam was in danger of breaking and flooding everything downstream, including the city of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau ...

. There were plans for evacuating the city, and many people left the city. All this ended when a large team of workers was able to open a channel for drainage in the landslide. Then the water levels of the lake sunk slowly to its normal levels. There is evidence that a similar landslide and earthquake happened in 1575.

References

External links

image of Riñihue Lake
Lakes of Chile Lakes of Los Ríos Region Glacial lakes of Chile Landslide-dammed lakes Mapuche language {{LosRíos-geo-stub