Caburgua Lake

Caburgua Lake
Caburga, the northernmost in the map
Coordinates	39°07′40″S 71°46′24″W / 39.12778°S 71.77333°W / -39.12778; -71.77333Coordinates: 39°07′40″S 71°46′24″W / 39.12778°S 71.77333°W / -39.12778; -71.77333
Type	Fault, glacial and volcano-dammed
Primary inflows	Blanco River
Primary outflows	Ojos del Caburgua (an underground outflow)
Basin countries	Chile
Surface area	53 km2 (20 sq mi)
Settlements	Caburgua

Caburgua Lake (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈβurɣwa]) is located 23 km northeast of the city of Pucón, in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. Huerquehue National Park lies to the east of the lake. Like Villarrica Lake, it is part of Toltén River basin. During summer the outflow river may dry out but due to high levels of underground infiltration the waterfalls Ojos del Caburgua never run dry.

The lake occupies a glacial valley carved out along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault. In the Holocene the valley was blocked by lava flows from the Volcanes de Caburgua.

The lake has recently gained notoriety for the holiday residences of people like Sebastián Piñera and President Michelle Bachelet.

The earliest Caburgua inhabitants before the Spanish were the Pehuenche, a subdivision of the Mapuche, who lived in the southern Andes and moved back and forth across the mountains. Numerous descendents of these people live in Caburgua today. Local residents do not usually distinguish Mapuche subdivisions, rather, they call Mapuche all the people who still speak the native language and have Mapuche surnames. The forests where the Mapuche lived stretched from the Pacific coast to the Argentine pampas. They were ancient and very productive. The most important tree was the Pehuén, referred to today as the Pino Araucaria, which produces large quantities of pine nuts. In the fall when the nuts mature, locals climb to the Pehuén forests, usually located above 3,000 feet, and collect the pine nuts or piñones in sacks. The Mapuche have various ways to consume the nuts: roasted, ground into flour, boiled, or in a fermented cider. The nuts are still consumed in large quantities and are seasonally available in Pucón grocery stores.

Taking advantage of natural meadows, the Mapuche planted corn, potatoes, and other vegetables. They also used slash and burn agriculture, but most of the Andes in this region were covered by giant, noble hardwoods, like coihue, roble, and raulí, which were not easy to clear for farming. The Mapuche did burn the trees and make dugout canoes, but without iron tools they could not make lumber. When the Spanish conquered the forested regions, they likewise had trouble developing a lumber industry for lack of machines and transportation.