{{Short description|Lake in northern Patagonia}} {{Infobox lake | name = Mascardi Lake | image = Lago Mascardi.jpg | caption = | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Bariloche Department, Río Negro Province, Argentina, in Patagonia | coords = {{coord|41|20|54|S|71|33|49|W|region:AR-R_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = Manso River | outflow = Manso River | catchment = | basin_countries = Argentina | length = {{convert|15|km|mi}} | width = {{convert|2.5|km|mi}} | area = {{convert|39.2|sqkm|sqmi}} | depth = {{convert|111|m|ft}} | max-depth = {{convert|218|m|ft}} | volume = {{convert|4.35|km3|acre.ft}} | residence_time = 3.72 years | shore = | elevation = {{convert|750|m|ft}} | islands = | cities = Villa Mascardi <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Argentina | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of the lake in Argentina. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = <ref>"Lake:Mascardi", https://web.archive.org/web/20110902225224/http://www.hidricosargentina.gov.ar/EIndice-Mascardi.html, accessed 16 Mar 2018</ref> }} '''Mascardi Lake''' ({{langx|es|'''Lago Mascardi'''}}, {{IPA|es|ˈlaɣo masˈkaɾði}}) is in the lake region of northern Patagonia in Río Negro Province of Argentina. The lake is near the resort city of Bariloche and is within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. The lake, of glacial origin, is named after Nicolás Mascardi, a 17th-century Jesuit who was a missionary in the area. [[File:Cerro tronador desde lago mascardi 01b.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Tronador stratovolcano looms over one arm of the lake.]] thumb|250px|left|The road along Catedral arm. The small lake is Lake Llum.

==Description== Mascardi Lake is V-shaped with two arms roughly equal in length and width. The eastern arm is called the Catedral (Cathedral) arm and the western arm is called the Tronador arm, named after the volcano on the border with Chile which is the highest and most prominent mountain in the area. The lake is surrounded by mountains rising steeply from the lake to elevations of more than {{convert|1800|m|ft}}. The mountains are snow-capped most of the year. Timberline on the mountains is above {{convert|1600|m|ft}}.<ref>Goggle Earth</ref> The lake has a maximum depth of {{convert|218|m|ft}} and a surface area of {{convert|39.2|sqkm|acre}}<ref>"Lake:Mascardi", https://web.archive.org/web/20110902225224/http://www.hidricosargentina.gov.ar/EIndice-Mascardi.html, accessed 16 Mar 2018</ref>

The primary inflow into Mascardi Lake is the Manso River which emerges from a small lake fed by a glacier called the Ventisquero Negro (literally "black snowfield"), on the slopes of Tronador mountain about {{convert|20|km|mi}} west of the lake. The Manso emerges from the southwestern corner lake via a short, turbulent passage called "Los Rapidos" (The Rapids) which leads to the Las Moscas Lake, the next in a chain of lakes along the Manso River.<ref>Google Earth</ref>

The lake lies next to Gutiérrez Lake.<ref name=K1963/> The gravel plain that separates them lies along the continental divide, with Mascardi Lake draining to the Pacific and Gutiérrez Lake to the Atlantic.<ref name=K1963>{{Cite book |title=Araucanian Lakes: Plankton Studies in North Patagonia with Notes on Terrestrial Vegetation |last=Thomasson |first=Kuno |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |year=1963 |location=Uppsala |page=86 |chapter=Lake Mascardi |authorlink=Kuno Thomasson}}</ref>

A paved highway (National Route 40) extends down the eastern arm of the lake to the southern shore where a small community called Villa Mascardi is located. From there a road (unpaved in 2018) named Route 82 follows the western arm of the lake northward and continues on to Ventisquero Negro.<ref>Google Earth</ref>

==Recreation== Kayaking and fishing are popular on Mascardi Lake with a number of tourist agencies in Bariloche offering guided tours.<ref>"Lake Mascardi", https://www.barilocheturismo.gob.ar/en/lake-mascardi, accessed 17 Mar 2018</ref> Species sought by fishermen are rainbow, brown, and brook trout, none of them native to Argentina. A number of campgrounds and lodging places are found along the roads that encircle one-half the lake. One of the campgrounds on the northernmost part of the Catedral arm is owned by a community of Mapuche people who were the principal occupants of this area from the 17th until the late 19th century.<ref>"Lake Mascardi," https://www.barilocheturismo.gob.ar/en/lake-mascardi, accessed 17 Mar 2018</ref>

A hiking trail, a section of the long-distance Huella Andina trail, leads {{convert|19.5|km|mi}} south to Lake Steffen. The trail is rated moderate in difficulty.<ref>''Senderos de Argentina'', https://lahuellaandina.com.ar/docs/senderos-de-patagonia-guia-oficial-2015-2016.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317233109/https://lahuellaandina.com.ar/docs/senderos-de-patagonia-guia-oficial-2015-2016.pdf |date=2018-03-17 }}, accessed 17 Mar 2018</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Lakes of Río Negro Province Category:Glacial lakes of Argentina Category:Nahuel Huapi National Park