Riñihue Lake

:"Riñihue" redirects here. For the village, see Riñihue, Chile."Infobox_lake |lake_name = Riñihue Lake
image_lake = riñihue.jpg
caption_lake = Sunset, view from Mocho-Choshuenco
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
coords = coord|39|50|36|S|72|17|39|W|type:waterbody_region:CL|display=inline,title
type =
inflow = Enco River
outflow = San Pedro River
catchment =
basin_countries = Chile
length = around 28.63 km
width = around 5.27 km
area = 77.5 km²
depth = 162 m
max-depth = 323 m
volume =
residence_time =
shore = around 72.84 km
elevation = around 108 meters
islands =
cities = Riñihue

The Riñihue Lake ( _es. Lago Riñihue) is a lake of glacial origin in eastern Valdivia Province, southern Chile. It is surrounded by several mountains. The eastern side receives the waters of the Panguipulli Lake, by the Enco River its main contributor. It is the last of the Seven Lakes chain. In the west is it cut into two arms by the Tralcan mount, and on the east side lies the Mocho-Choshuenco volcano. By the south the lake is bounded by the Cerros de Quimán mountains.

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 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. 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.

External links

* [http://www.indexmundi.com/z/?lat=-39.8333333&lon=-72.3&t=l&r=180&p=lago_rinihue&cc=ci&c=chile|Satellital image of Riñihue Lake]