El Calafate

Coordinates: 50°20′16″S 72°15′36″W / 50.33778°S 72.26000°W / -50.33778; -72.26000
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El Calafate
Coat of arms of El Calafate
El Calafate is located in Santa Cruz Province
El Calafate
El Calafate
Location of El Calafate in Argentina
El Calafate is located in Argentina
El Calafate
El Calafate
El Calafate (Argentina)
Coordinates: 50°20′16″S 72°15′36″W / 50.33778°S 72.26000°W / -50.33778; -72.26000
Country Argentina
Province Santa Cruz
DepartmentLago Argentino
Government
 • MayorHector Javier Belloni
Population
 (2022 census)
 • Total25,172[1]
Demonymcalafateño/a
Time zoneUTC-3 (ART)
CPA base
Z9405
Dialing code+54 2965
ClimateBSk
Websitewww.elcalafate.gov.ar Edit this at Wikidata

El Calafate, also known as Calafate, is a city in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated on the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province, about 320 kilometres (200 mi) northwest of Río Gallegos. The name of the city is derived from a little bush with yellow flowers and dark blue berries that is very common in Patagonia: the calafate (Berberis buxifolia); the word comes from the word calafate, which is Spanish for 'caulk'.

El Calafate is an important tourist destination as the hub to visit different parts of the Los Glaciares National Park, including Perito Moreno Glacier, Cerro Chaltén, and Cerro Torre.

History[edit]

The history of El Calafate began in the first decades of the twentieth century. Originally, it was simply a sheltering place for wool traders. The town was officially founded in 1927 by the government of Argentina to promote settlement,[1] but it was the creation of nearby Perito Moreno National Park in 1937 that sparked growth and the building of better road access.

Transport[edit]

The 220 kilometers separating Calafate from El Chaltén on the other side of the Lake Argentino in the national park are paved, as well as the 315 kilometres to Río Gallegos. Other distances are: to Bariloche 1400 km ; to Esquel 1108 km (some dirt road[2]); Comodoro Rivadavia 959 km; Puerto Madryn 1388 km; Buenos Aires 2727 km; Ushuaia 863 km.

The town is served by El Calafate International Airport (IATA: FTE, ICAO: SAWC) located some 20 km east of the village.

Population[edit]

There were 6,410 permanent residents were counted in the (2001 census [INDEC]). This represents a 106% increase compared with the 1991 census of 3,101.[3] However, due to the expansion of tourism, the population was 18,896 in 2010[4] and 28,766 in 2020. According to the 2022 census, it has since dropped to 25,172.[1] It is also referred to as "Lago Argentino" in 2022 and earlier census documents.

Wildlife[edit]

Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) are regularly visible from El Calafate congregating in the waters of Lago Argentino at the north shoreline near Estancia La Querencia.[5]

Climate[edit]

El Calafate experiences a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cool to warm, very dry summers and cool to cold, slightly wetter winters. The city's extremes of cold and heat are moderated by the influence of Lago Argentino. The waterfront of the city is located on a large shallow bay that is often frozen in the winter, allowing residents to practice ice skating. The highest temperature recorded was 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) on February 6, 1962[6] while the lowest recorded temperature was −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) on July 27, 2014.[7]

Climate data for El Calafate (Comandante Armando Tola International Airport) 1991–2020, extremes 1951–present[a]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 30.5
(86.9)
30.7
(87.3)
27.0
(80.6)
24.3
(75.7)
20.8
(69.4)
18.0
(64.4)
17.0
(62.6)
21.0
(69.8)
21.8
(71.2)
23.3
(73.9)
26.2
(79.2)
28.5
(83.3)
30.7
(87.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 19.1
(66.4)
19.2
(66.6)
16.6
(61.9)
12.9
(55.2)
8.7
(47.7)
5.5
(41.9)
5.2
(41.4)
6.9
(44.4)
11.1
(52.0)
13.5
(56.3)
15.8
(60.4)
17.9
(64.2)
12.7
(54.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.9
(57.0)
13.6
(56.5)
10.9
(51.6)
7.1
(44.8)
3.4
(38.1)
1.0
(33.8)
0.6
(33.1)
2.0
(35.6)
5.2
(41.4)
8.0
(46.4)
10.7
(51.3)
12.8
(55.0)
7.4
(45.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 7.2
(45.0)
6.8
(44.2)
4.7
(40.5)
1.1
(34.0)
−1.7
(28.9)
−3.7
(25.3)
−4.4
(24.1)
−2.8
(27.0)
−0.8
(30.6)
1.3
(34.3)
4.0
(39.2)
6.2
(43.2)
1.5
(34.7)
Record low °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0)
−2.2
(28.0)
−6.8
(19.8)
−9.6
(14.7)
−12.4
(9.7)
−16.6
(2.1)
−17.4
(0.7)
−15.2
(4.6)
−9.0
(15.8)
−9.0
(15.8)
−5.6
(21.9)
−5.0
(23.0)
−17.4
(0.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6.9
(0.27)
13.7
(0.54)
16.7
(0.66)
19.5
(0.77)
20.3
(0.80)
14.6
(0.57)
13.6
(0.54)
14.2
(0.56)
11.4
(0.45)
13.5
(0.53)
6.9
(0.27)
9.5
(0.37)
160.8
(6.33)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.1 3.1 4.0 4.3 4.9 4.9 4.2 4.7 3.3 3.0 2.0 2.7 42.9
Average snowy days 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.8 5.6 5.9 4.4 1.3 0.9 0.2 0.1 20.4
Average relative humidity (%) 46.6 51.3 58.3 66.1 75.1 78.4 78.3 75.3 64.0 54.9 49.9 48.1 62.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 288.3 243.0 213.9 171.0 117.8 93.0 108.5 148.8 192.0 238.7 276.0 272.8 2,363.8
Mean daily sunshine hours 9.3 8.6 6.9 5.7 3.8 3.1 3.5 4.8 6.4 7.7 9.2 8.8 6.5
Percent possible sunshine 51 52 50 49 41 38 36 44 48 51 54 50 47
Source 1: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (extremes 1962–present)[8][9][10][7]
Source 2: NOAA (percent sun 1961–1990),[11] Secretaria de Mineria (extremes 1951–1980)[6]

Attractions[edit]

Cerro Frias 4x4 Landrover tours

El Calafate is the nearest city to the Perito Moreno glacier, located 80 km away at Los Glaciares National Park. It's the most important tourist attraction thanks to its location and variety of activities available, such as sightseeing, walking (there are also wheelchair ramps), walking on top of the glacier, sailing, and kayaking.

Other attractions in El Calafate are Laguna Nimez nature preserve, where it's possible to do birdwatching and observe local fauna and flora; 4x4 vehicle excursions to Cerro Frías, Cerro Huyliche[12] and La Leona petrified forest and Punta Walichu (archaeological sites); several farms[13] which showcase traditional activities (sheep herding, shearing, horseback riding, Argentine barbecue, among others); Glaciarium,[14] a museum that focuses on ice and glaciers, especially in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

For a variety of trekking tours, tourists often travel to the nearby town of El Chaltén, considered the National Trekking Capital.

Interesting facts[edit]

The most recent World Altitude Gliding record of 22,657 m (74,333 ft) was set near El Calafate on 2 September 2018 by Jim Payne and Tim Gardner in the new Perlan 2 glider (with pressurised cabin).[15]

A previous gliding altitude record of 15,460 m (50,722 feet) was set near El Calafate on 29 August 2006 by Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson in their 'Perlan' high altitude research glider.[16] This record has been certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

The town was on the path of the total solar eclipse of July 11, 2010, occurring just before sunset. El Calafate was featured in the Top Gear Patagonia Special, in which the presenters drove from Bariloche to Ushuaia.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The record highs and lows are based on the Secretaria de Mineria link for the period 1951–1980 while records beyond 1962 come from the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional link. When these two sources are used together, the record highs and lows are from the period 1951–present

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Municipio de El Calafate". Government of Argentina (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Home". ruta0.com.
  3. ^ "El Calafate". Interior Ministry. Archived from the original on 2009-03-31.
  4. ^ "Provincia de Santa Cruz - Lago Argentino". 2010 Argentine Census (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2023. aka Lago Argentino
  5. ^ "Los Glaciares National Park" (PDF). UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Provincia de Santa Cruz - Clima Y Meteorologia: Datos Meteorologicos Y Pluviometicos" (in Spanish). Secretaria de Mineria de la Nacion (Argentina). Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Clima en la Argentina: Guia Climática por El Calafate Aero". Caracterización: Estadísticas de largo plazo (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales - período 1991-2020" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Estadísticas Climatológicas Normales – período 1991–2020" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Estadística climatológica de la República Argentina Período 1991-2000" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Lago Argentino Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]
  14. ^ Descubri el Glaciar Perito Moreno
  15. ^ "List of FAI world records for open-class gliders". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. ID 18704
  16. ^ "Steve Fossett (USA) (14043) / World Air Sports Federation". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. ID 14043

External links[edit]