Icalma Lake
# Icalma Lake

Icalma Lake is a lake of glacial origin located in the Andes of the La Araucanía Region of Chile. A hamlet on the southern shore of the lake is also called Icalma. About 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the hamlet is Icalma Pass, 1,307 metres (4,288 ft) in elevation and on the border with Argentina. The pass is traversed by a road, unpaved in Chile in 2017 and sometimes impassable during the Southern Hemisphere winter due to heavy snows. Icalma Airport is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) northeast of the hamlet.

Icalma Lake is connected to the Laguna Chica de Icalma (Little Lake of Icalma) by a short stream about 300 metres (980 ft) long. The two lakes together have a surface area of 11.7 square kilometres (2,900 acres). Icalma Lake drains northeastwards by way of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long river named Rukanuco. Icalma Lake and nearby Galletué Lake are the sources of the Bio Bio River.

## Flora and Fauna

The most abundant species of fish in the lake is the brown trout. The lake also has a population of rainbow trout. Neither species is native to Chile.

The lake and village are in the ecoregion of the Valdivian Temperate Rain Forest. The monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) locally called "pehuen" is the most distinctive of the tree species in the forest.

## Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Icalma has an oceanic climate, designated Csb. Under the Trewartha climate classification the climate is Crlk: mild summers, cool winters, and humid.

Climate data for Icalma :

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Average high °C (°F) | 24.3 (75.7) | 23.9 (75.0) | 21.3 (70.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 11.4 (52.5) | 6.7 (44.1) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.7 (47.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.6 (61.9) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.8 (71.2) | 16.0 (60.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.6 (58.3) | 14.1 (57.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 8.6 (47.5) | 5.7 (42.3) | 3.6 (38.5) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.5 (40.1) | 6.1 (43.0) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.0 (51.8) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.8 (47.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) | 4.3 (39.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | 0.4 (32.7) | 0.1 (32.2) | 0.4 (32.7) | 1.0 (33.8) | 0.4 (32.7) | −0.2 (31.6) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | 1.6 (34.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 28 (1.1) | 34 (1.3) | 64 (2.5) | 87 (3.4) | 200 (7.9) | 231 (9.1) | 218 (8.6) | 162 (6.4) | 99 (3.9) | 56 (2.2) | 61 (2.4) | 44 (1.7) | 1,284 (50.6) |
| Source: ||||||||||||||
