Chartres River
Topographic map of the Falkland Islands; Chartres as at 619525
Map
Location
British Overseas Territory Falkland Islands
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Moody
Mouth 
 • location
Chartres
 • coordinates
51°44′12″S 60°00′14″W / 51.73667°S 60.00389°W / -51.73667; -60.00389
Length25 kilometres (16 mi)

Chartres River is one of the two largest watercourses on West Falkland, along with the Warrah River.[1] The river rises from the confluence of two streams on Mount Moody in the Hornby Mountains, and flows westwards for some 25 kilometres (16 mi) before emptying into Christmas Harbour, an inlet of King George Bay.[2][3][4] The river is tidal as a report from 1928 informed about a wooden bridge which was used at high tide as the ford just downstream could not be used for crossing with horses or sheep.[5] The bridge was built in 1928 by the local farmers with material supplied to them from the government of the islands.[6] The bridge is some 8 miles (13 km) upriver of Chartres settlement and is 120 feet (37 m) long, 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) high.[7] A survey of the river flow to allow the bridge to be built suggested it was only 1–1.5 feet (0.30–0.46 m) deep in summer, and during flooding, this could rise to between 6–7 feet (1.8–2.1 m).[8]

Brown trout and sea trout are known to be in the river, and sampling in 1999, showed that the river was 25 metres (82 ft) wide in places with a temperature of around 7.8 °C (46.0 °F) with no evidence of zebra trout.[9][10] As the river is known to be a good spot for fishing, it has been restocked with brown trout.[11] The river was named after Dr William Chatres, a surgeon aboard the HMS Philomel which surveyed the islands in the 1840s.[12] The settlement of Chartres takes its name from the river that is stands on.[13] When an aircraft lands for the Chartres settlement, it uses the estuary of the Chartres River, and is roped in to the shore.[14] The Royal Navy surveyed the estuary and some of the river in 1967, after reports that when the RMS Darwin was collecting wool from the settlements in the estuary, it came close to running aground.[15]

References

  1. ^ Alexander G. Findlay (1867). A Sailing Directory for the Ethiopic Or South Atlantic Ocean, Including the Coasts of South America and Africa. R. H. Laurie. pp. 232–.
  2. ^ Montgomery, Martin Robert (1857). The British colonies : their history, extent, condition and resources. London: J. & F. Tallis. p. 362. OCLC 2017364.
  3. ^ Hitchfield, J (1893). The South America pilot. Part I. East coast of South America : from Cape St. Roque to Cape Virgins, including Falkland, South Georgia (4 ed.). London: Darling & Son. p. 409. OCLC 37335706.
  4. ^ "Chartres River - Fishing in West Falkland, West Falklands - Falkland islands". www.falklandislands.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  5. ^ "Rural Heritage Definitive - Falkland Islands". Falklands Stamps. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  6. ^ Falkland Islands. London: HMSO. 1926. p. 5. OCLC 5739934.
  7. ^ "Chartres River, West Falkland; measurement for suggested bridge" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 115. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  8. ^ "Chartres River, West Falkland; measurement for suggested bridge" (PDF). nationalarchives.gov.fk. p. 3. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  9. ^ Minett, Jessica F.; Garcia de Leaniz, Carlos; Brickle, Paul; Consuegra, Sofia (May 2021). "A new high‐resolution melt curve eDNA assay to monitor the simultaneous presence of invasive brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) and endangered galaxiids". Environmental DNA. 3 (3): 4. doi:10.1002/edn3.151.
  10. ^ Wigan, Michael (1 October 1994). "Trout to stir the soul". Financial Times. No. 32, 486. p. xiv. ISSN 0307-1766.
  11. ^ Minett, J. F.; Fowler, D. M.; Jones, J. A. H.; Brickle, P.; Crossin, G. T.; Consuegra, S.; Garcia de Leaniz, C. (April 2023). "Conservation of endangered galaxiid fishes in the Falkland Islands requires urgent action on invasive brown trout". Biological Invasions. 25 (4): 22. doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02959-4.
  12. ^ "Chartres, Falkland Islands". www.falklands-southatlantic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  13. ^ Wheeler, Tony (2004). The Falklands & South Georgia Island. London: Lonely Planet. p. 118. ISBN 1740596439.
  14. ^ Gammon, Clive (3 March 1978). "Trout Heaven In A Bit Of Hell Off the tip of South America, among the ghosts of wrecked ships and lost seamen, the bleak and windswept Falkland Islands provide the angler with some of the world's biggest sea-run browns". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 48, no. 15. Los Angeles: Time Inc. p. 84. ISSN 0038-822X.
  15. ^ Report by the Hydrographer of the Navy. 1968. Taunton: Royal Navy. 1969. p. 19. OCLC 226127492.