Reloncavà Estuary
Reloncaví Fjord near its confluence with the Reloncaví Sound
Map of Area
Reloncaví Fjord (Spanish Estuario de Reloncaví ) is the name of an elongated, narrow fjord in southern Chile.
It opens to the east of Reloncaví Sund, a large single basin south of the district capital, Puerto Montt, and extends in a curved J-shape first by ONO and after a bend near the middle in NNO - direction. He is in full (los Lagos Región de ) in Chile's Region X. The Reloncaví Fjord is the northernmost Chilean fjord and one of the world next to the equator.
Are the Chilean National Park Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park of Hornopirén, the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino and the nature reserve Llanquihue and the impressive volcanic cone of Osorno, Calbuco and Yate in its immediate vicinity. Today he is due to its depth and its generally favorable water conditions of the centers of Chilean farmed salmon production.
Geographical and hydrological details
The fjord is 55 km long and at its widest point no wider than three kilometers. Its average width is about 2 kilometers. It opens on the east side of the Reloncaví Sund, the northernmost part of the Chilean lake between the mainland and the island of Chiloe. The fjord runs at first in ONO direction and turns more about at its center to the north. In his first third of the inhabited island Marimeli is. In the Reloncaví Fjord next to some streams flow two rivers: the Río Petrohué the north and the Río Puleo in the middle of the east coast. In addition to the frequent and heavy rainfall, these rivers contribute significantly to the water renewal and affect the salinity of the fjord. Between its opening from the Sound and the Marimeli Island of the fjord is on average 400 m deep, in the bend area the average depth is about 200 m, and is situated in the northernmost third of less than 100 m. The average depth of the entire fjord is 170 m. The two leading- rivers form deltas of large boulder; in their area is shallow brackish lagoons have formed. The salinity of the fjord varies both regionally and seasonally. He is around 1.7% in the North and 4.5% at the mouth. The amplitude of normal tides is slightly more than one meter, but flash floods can reach an amplitude of up to 6 meters. In contrast, the tidal range in the Reloncavi Sound can exceed 10 m.
Fishing industry
The Reloncaví Fjord is one of the centers of the Chilean farmed fish production, which began in the 1970s and today represents a significant economic factor. Are grown mainly salmonids such as Atlantic salmon, silver salmon and king salmon in the river mouths also brown trout and rainbow trout. Escaped copies of chinook salmon have established self-sustaining populations and rising annually in some Chilean rivers, including the Río Petrohué on to spawn. The other two species of salmon does not seem so far to have succeeded. However, rainbow trout and to a lesser extent brown trout are the most abundant fish species in many Chilean rivers and are increasingly replacing the few native species. Earlier it was in the fjord, especially after the Robalo ( Eleginops maclovinus ) and the Merluza de cola, a Seehechtart fished.