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29-576: Lago Argentino lies within Los Glaciares National Park , in a landscape accented by numerous glaciers , and the lakes of the area are fed by the glacial meltwater of several rivers. For example, the waters of Lake Viedma are fed by the La Leona River , and many other, smaller mountain streams. Lago Argentino's drainage basin amounts to more than 17,000 km (6,564 sq mi). Water from Lake Argentino flows into

58-670: A World Heritage Site by UNESCO . The park's name refers to the giant ice cap in the Andes , the largest outside of Antarctica , Greenland and Iceland , feeding 47 large glaciers , of which 13 flow towards the Pacific Ocean . In other parts of the world, glaciers start at a height of at least 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above mean sea level , but due to the size of the ice cap, these glaciers begin at only 1,500 m (4,900 ft), sliding down to 200 m (660 ft). Los Glaciares borders Torres del Paine National Park to

87-536: A larger size and are less abundant. Notwithstanding differences in abundance, the density of biomass of lake trout is fairly consistent in similar lakes, regardless of whether the lake trout populations they contain are planktivorous or piscivorous. In Lake Superior, common lake trout ( S. n. namaycush ) and siscowet lake trout ( S. n. siscowet ) live together. Common lake trout tend to stay in shallower waters, while siscowet lake trout stay in deeper water. Common lake trout (also called "lean" lake trout) are slimmer than

116-459: A length of 59 inches (150 cm). Lake trout inhabit cold, oxygen-rich waters. They are pelagic during the period of summer stratification in dimictic lakes , often living at depths of 20–60 m (66–197 ft). The lake trout is a slow-growing fish, typical of oligotrophic waters. It is also very late to mature. Populations are extremely susceptible to overfishing . Many native lake trout populations have been severely damaged through

145-476: Is a federal protected area in Santa Cruz Province , Argentina . The park covers an area of 726,927 ha (7,269.27 km ; 2,806.68 sq mi), making it the largest national park in the country. Established on 11 May 1937, it hosts a representative sample of Magellanic subpolar forest and west Patagonian steppe biodiversity in good state of conservation. In 1981, it was declared

174-429: Is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America . Other names for it include mackinaw , namaycush, lake char (or charr ), touladi , togue , laker , and grey trout . In Lake Superior , it can also be variously known as siscowet , paperbelly and lean . The lake trout is prized both as a game fish and as a food fish . Those caught with dark coloration may be called mud hens . It

203-503: Is home to numerous living organisms; as of 2024, the biodiversity database iNaturalist lists nearly 500 recorded plant and almost 400 animal species as being found in the area, as well as nearly 100 types of fungi and lichen . Birds Around 150 species of birds have been documented in and around the lake. Many are endemic to the region, such as the roughly 50-60 species of wading birds and waterfowl ; iconic amphibious species, like Andean and Chilean flamingos , as well as

232-495: Is the only member of the subgenus Cristovomer , which is more derived than the subgenus Baione (the most basal clade of Salvelinus , containing the brook trout ( S. fontinalis ) and silver trout ( S. agasizii )) but still basal to the other members of Salvelinus . From a zoogeographical perspective, lake trout have a relatively narrow distribution. They are native only to the northern parts of North America , principally Canada , but also Alaska and, to some extent,

261-607: The Atlantic Ocean through the Santa Cruz River . The glaciers, the nearby town of El Calafate , and the lake itself are all important tourist destinations, with many unique hostels, hotels and other amenities catering to the outdoors located in the region. The lake, in particular, is appreciated for fishing . Perch , common galaxias (" puyen grande "), lake trout and rainbow trout —in both anadromous and potamodromous forms—are all found. Lago Argentino

290-515: The University of Wisconsin-Madison James Kitchell credits effective constraint of commercial fisheries and persistent sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) control for the successful recovery of Lake Superior's lake trout. "Looking at what has happened in the lake and the results of computer simulations, it is clear that lamprey control needs to continue if Lake Superior is to keep its lake trout." Lake trout are known to hybridize in nature with

319-414: The black-headed duck , black-necked swan , cinnamon teal , crested duck , Coscoroba swan , kelp goose , silver teal , torrent duck and many others can be found here, as well as varied species of coot , cormorant , dotterel , gallinule , godwit , grebe , gull , knot , lapwing , oystercatcher , phalarope , plover , sandpiper , snipe , stilt , tern and yellowlegs . Other birds include

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348-464: The brook trout ; such hybrids, known as " splake ", are normally sterile but self-sustaining populations exist in some lakes. Splake are also artificially propagated in hatcheries, and then stocked into lakes in an effort to provide sport-fishing opportunities. Lake trout were fished commercially in the Great Lakes until lampreys, overharvest and pollution extirpated or severely reduced

377-1039: The stocks . Commercial fisheries still exist in some areas of the Great Lakes and smaller lakes in northern Canada . Commercial fishing by Ojibwe for Lake Trout in Lake Superior is permitted under various treaties and regulated by the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). The specific epithet namaycush derives from namekush , a form of the word used in some inland Southern East Cree communities in referring to this species of fish. Other variations found in East Cree are kûkamâs[h] , kûkamâw and kûkamesh . Similar cognate words are found in Ojibwe : namegos = "lake trout"; namegoshens = "rainbow trout", literally meaning "little lake trout". Geneva , New York claims

406-554: The 1980s where they are now considered invasive . Lake trout are the largest of the chars; the record weighed almost 102 pounds (46 kg) (netted) with a length of 50 inches (130 cm), and 15–40-pound (6.8–18.1-kilogram) fish are not uncommon. The average length is 24–36 inches (61–91 centimetres). The largest caught on a rod and reel according to the IGFA was 72 pounds (33 kg), caught in Great Bear Lake in 1995 with

435-696: The Atlantic. Between the two halves is a non-touristic zone without lakes called Zona Centro . The northern half consists of part of Viedma Lake , the Viedma Glacier and a few minor glaciers, and a number of mountains very popular among fans of climbing and trekking, including Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre . The southern part has, as well as a number of smaller ones, the major glaciers which flow into Lake Argentino: Perito Moreno Glacier , Upsala Glacier , and Spegazzini Glacier . Typical excursion boats travel between icebergs to visit Onelli Bay , and

464-431: The combined effects of hatchery stocking (planting) and over harvest. Another threat to lake trout is acidification , which can have longterm effects on their populations through both direct harm and reduced prey populations (e.g. Mysis relicta ). There are three subspecies of lake trout. There is the common lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush namaycush ), the siscowet lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush siscowet ), and

493-402: The famous Andean condor (the largest New World vulture ), Austral parakeet , Austral pygmy-owl , cinereous harrier , crested caracara , the flightless Darwin's rhea (the largest bird in the area), lesser horned owl , Magellanic woodpecker , and the short-eared owl . Fish Puyen ( Galaxias maculatus ) and perca ( Percichthys ), are two registered species of fish that live in

522-554: The lake include Alsodes coppingeri , the Eden Harbour toad ( Nannophryne variegata ), the large four-eyed frog ( Pleurodema bufoninum ), Nibaldo's wood frog ( Batrachyla nibaldoi ), and the Puerto Eden frog ( Chaltenobatrachus grandisonae ). Argentino Lake has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk ). Los Glaciares National Park Los Glaciares National Park ( Spanish : Parque Nacional Los Glaciares )

551-550: The lake. Also present are introduced and non-native brown trout ( Salmo trutta ), chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) and rainbow trout ( O . mykiss ). Reptiles and Amphibians Of the roughly 10-15 reptile species recorded in the vicinity of Lago Argentino, the majority of them are lizards ( Squamata ) of the generas Diplolaemus and Liolaemus , including several species of tree "iguanas", smooth-headed and smooth-throated lizards. Anurans ( frogs and toads ) that inhabit

580-756: The latter of which has suffered from the invasion of the cattle industry and are endangered . The guanaco, while not endangered, has had a dramatic decline in historic population due to large scale grazing of livestock throughout much of Patagonia. There are over 100 species of birds in the area ( condors , eagles , and others). Between the ice and the Patagonian steppe there is a fertile area of Magellanic subpolar forests composed mainly of lengas and guindos , but also ñires . Within these more hospitable areas also live huemul deer and torrent duck . Los Glaciares National Park faces many issues around tourism, overgrazing , forest fires and more. There are areas of

609-467: The less common rush lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush huronicus ). Some lakes do not have pelagic forage fish during the period of summer stratification. In these lakes, lake trout act as planktivores . Lake trout in planktivorous populations are highly abundant, grow very slowly and mature at relatively small sizes. In those lakes that do contain deep-water forage, lake trout become piscivorous . Piscivorous lake trout grow much more quickly, mature at

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638-498: The northeastern United States . Lake trout have been widely introduced into non-native waters in North America and into many other parts of the world, mainly Europe , but also into South America and certain parts of Asia . Although lake trout were introduced into Yellowstone National Park 's Shoshone , Lewis and Heart lakes legally in the 1890s, they were illegally or accidentally introduced into Yellowstone Lake in

667-423: The otherwise inaccessible Spegazzini and Upsala. Perito Moreno is reachable by land. The park has a cool and moist temperate climate. Mean temperatures range from 0.6 °C (33.1 °F) in winter to 13.4 °C (56.1 °F) in summer although at higher altitudes, the mean annual temperature can be around −3 °C (26.6 °F). The park receives an average annual rainfall of 500 mm (20 in) in

696-420: The park where overgrazing is quite a problem and contains many alien/ invasive and feral species such as cattle, European hares and certain types of trout. Forest fires have had a strong impact on the site and degraded and destroyed parts of it as well. Los Glaciares is a major attraction for international tourists. Starting points of tours are the city of El Calafate at the shore of Lake Argentino but outside

725-571: The park, where the park's administration has its headquarters, and El Chaltén village in the northern part of the park, at the foot of the Fitz Roy. Other touristic points in the park include Lago del Desierto and Lago Roca . It was also used as one of the filming locations for "Return of the Ice", the second episode of the speculative science documentary series The Future is Wild . Lake trout The lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush )

754-519: The relatively fat siscowet. Siscowet numbers have become greatly depressed over the years due to a combination of the extirpation of some of the fish's deep water coregonine prey and to overexploitation . Siscowet tend to grow extremely large and fat and attracted great commercial interest in the last century. Their populations have rebounded since 1970, with one estimate putting the number in Lake Superior at 100 million. Professor of Zoology at

783-585: The south in Chilean territory. Los Glaciares, of which 30% is covered by ice, can be divided in two parts, each corresponding with one of the two elongated big lakes partially contained by the park. Lake Argentino , 1,466 km (566 sq mi) and the largest in Argentina, is in the south, while Lake Viedma , 1,100 km (420 sq mi), is in the north. Both lakes feed the Santa Cruz River that flows down to lower part Puerto Santa Cruz on

812-517: The west and 900 mm (35 in) in the east which is evenly distributed throughout the year. Snowfall is common during the colder months. The mountains hold most of the humidity from the Pacific Ocean , letting through only the ice coldness (annual average of 7.5 °C (45.5 °F)) and creating the arid Patagonian steppe on the Argentine side of the range. This area is habitat for rheas , guanaco , cougar , and South American gray fox ,

841-400: Was also the name of the airport that served the area until 2000. This airport is currently closed, and its runway was incorporated into the city's road system. It has since been replaced by Comandante Armando Tola International Airport , which serves the town of El Calafate and Lago Argentino with many national and international flights each day. Lago Argentino, and its surrounding terrain,

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