El Calafate is a little village in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated in the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province, about 320 km Northwest from Río Gallegos. Its name comes from a little bush with yellow flowers very common in Patagonia, with dark blue berries: the calafate (Berberis buxifolia); the word comes from the tehuelche language. In orange the area most commonly defined as Patagonia. ... Lake Argentino and Perito Moreno glacier Lake Argentino (in Spanish, Lago Argentino) is a freshwater lake located in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, at . ... Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the south of the country, in the Patagonia. ... Río Gallegos is a city in Argentina and is the capital of the Santa Cruz Province. ... Binomial name Berberis buxifolia Lam. ... Patagonian camp, 1838 Tehuelches is the collective name of the native tribes of Patagonia. ...

El Calafate is an important tourist destination as the hub to visit different parts of the Los Glaciares National Park, including the Perito Moreno Glacier (one of the most visited in the world) and the Cerro Chaltén and Cerro Torre. Los Glaciares (Spanish for the glaciers) is a national park in the Santa Cruz, in the Argentine Patagonia. ... The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park of Argentina. ... Cerro Chaltén, also known as Cerro Fitzroy, is a mountain located in the Los Glaciares National Park of Patagonia, near the El Chaltén village, in Argentina The name Chaltén comes from a Mapuche word meaning smoking mountain, due to a cloud that usually forms in the top... Cerro Torre is a mountain located in the Los Glaciares National Park of Patagonia. ...

History

The history of El Calafate began in the first decades of the twentieth century. Originally, it was just a shelter place for wool traders. It was officially founded in 1927 by the Argentinian government, to promote an increase in its population. But it was not until the creation of the national park that the little village, already with electrical power, started to grow slowly, and better roads were built to reach it. See Alpaca wool, Angora wool (of rabbits) and Cashmere wool (of goats) for information about other wools. ...

Transport

The 220 kilometres separating Calafate from El Chaltén on the other side of the Lake Argentino in the national park are paved, as well as the 315 kilometres to Río Gallegos. Other distance are: to Esquel 1108 km (mostly dirt road); Comodoro Rivadavia 959 km; Puerto Madryn 1388 km; Buenos Aires 2727 km; Ushuaia 863 km and in Chile Puerto Natales 362 km and Punta Arenas 605 km. View to El Chaltén from the trail towards the Fitz Roy mountain. ... Lake Argentino and Perito Moreno glacier Lake Argentino (in Spanish, Lago Argentino) is a freshwater lake located in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, at . ... Río Gallegos is a city in Argentina and is the capital of the Santa Cruz Province. ... Esquel is a town in the north-east of the province of Chubut, in the Argentine Patagonia. ... Comodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Chubut Province of southern Argentina, on the Gulf of San Jorge (an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean). ... Puerto Madryn (in Welsh, Porth Madryn) is a city in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. ... Buenos Aires (English: Fair Winds; originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, and one of... The city of Ushuaia in early spring. ... Puerto Natales is the capital of the province of Ultima Esperanza. ... City of Punta Arenas Punta Arenas is the main city in the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Región de Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena, Chile. ...

The town is served by El Calafate International Airport (IATA: FTE, ICAO: SAWA) located some 20 km east of the village, at coordinates 50°20′S 72°15′W. Opened in 2001 it has daily flights to Buenos Aires and Trelew. The airport has a 2,200 meters long, 45 meters wide runway that permits Boeing 727 and 737 to serve the area. An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier or simply a location identifier [1], is a three-letter alphabetic code designating many airports around the world. ... The ICAO airport code (IPA pronunciation: ) is a four-letter alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. ... Buenos Aires (English: Fair Winds; originally Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, and one of... Trelew is a city in the province of Chubut, in the Argentine Patagonia, with a population of about 89,000 as per the 2001 census [INDEC]. The city has a small commercial center, several neighborhoods, and some villas miseria (shanty towns), in which the houses are made of tin metal... The Boeing 727 is a large, single-aisle (narrow-body) commercial jet airliner carrying as many as 189 passengers. ... The Boeing 737 is the worlds most popular medium range - narrow body commercial passenger jet aircraft. ...

Population

In the last census 6,143 permanents residents where counted (2001 census [INDEC]). That represent a 20.1% increment in comparison with the 1991 census. However, due to the touristic expansion, a population of 8,000 people was estimated for 2005. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ... National Statistics and Censuses Institute (Spanish: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos, INDEC) is the Argentine government agency responsible for the collection and processing of statistical data. ...