Ranco Lake

Ranco Lake (Spanish: Lago Ranco) is located in Ranco Province of Chile. It is the largest lake of Los Ríos Region and the fourth largest in Chile. Administratively Ranco Lake is split into three communes; La Unión, Futrono and Lago Ranco. The lake hosts a series of islands, of which Huapi Island is the largest. Illeifa Island is owned by the affluent Edwards family.[2] The western half of the lake is roughly circular while the eastern part features deep embayments. Geographically the lake lies in the Andean precordillera, the zone between the Chilean Central Valley and the Andes.

Ranco Lake Lago Ranco
View of the lakes southeastern embayment from Mirador Piedra Mesa
Ranco Lake Lago Ranco
Coordinates	40°14′51″S 72°23′07″W
Primary inflows	Calcurrupe, Caunahue, Nilahue
Primary outflows	Bueno River
Basin countries	Chile
Surface area	410 km2 (160 sq mi)[1]
Max. depth	199 m (653 ft)
Surface elevation	70 m (230 ft)[1]
Islands	Huapi Island, Illeifa
Settlements	Futrono, Lago Ranco, Llifén, Puerto Nuevo
References	[1]

The lake differs from other large lakes north and south of it by lacking a clearly visible large volcano in its surroundings.[2]

The invasive plant species Limnobium laevigatum is present in the lake, which is some of its southernmost locales in Chile.[3]

During the Miocene the lake depression was connected to the Pacific Ocean as an embayment of it. During this period a series of marine fossil bearing sediments known as Estratos de Lago Ranco were deposited in the lake area. During the quaternary glaciations the lake depression was covered by a large glacier lobe of the Patagonian Ice Sheet which left semicircular moraines around the lake's western shore.

Topography of the region. The Puyehue-Cordón Caulle massif is located between Ranco and Puyehue Lake