Location

Most of our territory (7.775 km2) is located in the Oriental Piemont in Los Andes, specifically in the central area of the region; over the border with Argentina. The meridian corresponds to 71º West.

Relief

As a result of the forces and the great glacier activity. The territory has got three different kinds of relief, all of them formed in strips from North to South. From the West we can find the Cordillera Andina. Its high summits separate us from Aysen, even though the territory is specifically located at the West, going through the Cordillera, until reaching Hudson Volcano. The second strip is formed by the Cordones Subandinos Orientales that go from West to East, perpendicular to the Andes that appear as valleys worked by the glaciers. The most important ones are Cordillera de Castillo, Cord del Divisadero, Cord de las Estatuas and the Cordillera del Catedral. These two elements, cords and valleys originate the characteristic landscape of the transition area, full of beautiful lakes and valleys that get open to the East. The third strip corresponds to the Patagonia Steppe. These are areas of huge pampas that end up in the Argentinean border.

Weather

Due to the wide variety of relief, the weather and vegetation are quite diverse. In this way, the visitor may get surprised by the way the landscape change from high mountains always snowed to sunny valleys. Precipitations vary according to the relief. For instance, Coyhaique reaches almost 1.200 mm of rain and snow.

Coyhaique is in the middle of the region. It is specifically located in a rainy area, where Cordillera de los Andes acts as a climate barrier in order to protect from the humidity of the Pacific Ocean. The high summits are mainly formed by rocks, covered by glaciers, which descend until San Rafael Glacier till the sea. Because of the melt process a whole new landscape is being formed, with abundant valleys, large rivers, crystalline lagoons and lakes of amazing colors.

Half of the native forests were saved from the historical fires that took place during the 40’s and 50’s. Because of this, the biodiversity our region presents is quite high. Coyhaique presents lots of National Parks and Reserves, among them: Cerro Castillo, Coyhaique, Río Simpson, Trapananda and Dos Lagunas National Monument, are very visited.

Also, the great volcano formations give us mountain formations of great majesty such as Piedra del Indio, the Petrified forest and the rocky summit of Emperador Guillermo to the West of Villa Ortega, also the mystical De La Luna Valley in Ñirehuao and of course the imposing Cerro Castillo, in the South of the Region.