Lake Huechulafquen

The journalist that covered the Plesiosaur expedition in 1922, sent by the Buenos Aires magazine Caras y Caretas interviewed a Mr. Goicochea who had lived in Minas (central Neuquén province) about other sightings. Below is what he reported in issue 1229 (April 1922).

The Plesiosaur in Lake Huechulafquen

The text in English is the following:

Mr. Goicochea said "I remember, when I was the Secretary of the Court in the Department of Minas, hearing many times, [from] respectable neighbors something similar to that... and they were not young fellows... I will cite their names: Mr. Cecilio Gerio, merchand in Junín de los Andes, Mr. Mendaña, old rancher of those regions, one of the first settlers in the Cordillera... Another: "Fair" Bagual, which is his nickame, but is really named Rodriguez... Well, this Rodriguez was a soldier in the expedition to the desert. He deserted and then obtained his retirement and now owns a small ranch over there... All of them have said many times that in the lake Huachi-Lauquén [sic] at sunset, an animal often appewars on the surface of the water, with more or less the same features of the one they say they have seen in Esguel [sic]. Very long neck, head of a lizard, the body that must be enormous, because when it submerges, it produces like a boiling in the water

Huachi-Lauquen is Lake Huechulafquen, and Esguel, is a small lake close to the town of Esquel in Chubut.

You can read the original Spanish text here

Huechulafquen is a large lake, 30 km (19 mi.) long and up to 5 km (3.1 mi.) wide, it covers an area of 78 km² (30 sq. mi.), and is very deep.

Lake Huechulafquen and Lanin Volcano by the northeastern tip of the lake

In the 1960s, Gregorio Alvarez casually mentions among several other strange mythical animals which he calls zoomorphs, a “cow at Lake Huechulafquen.”Unfortunately, he did not describe the beast, so its appearance is a mystery.

In March 2009, a tourist named Jorge Salcedo, while on an excursion in a catamaran, photographed what looks like a set of three waves that look more like the wake of some boat than the back of an animal swimming just below the surface. The media quickly reported it as a lake creature and named it “Huechulito.”

In 2023, a tourist filmed some strange waves in the calm lake (Source). Below is a still from the video (video online).

2023 sighting Huechulafquen.

A plausible explanation could involve otters or even gas bubbles surfacing in the lake because there is plenty of geothermal activity and hot water springs in the area as it is located beside the Lanin volcano.

Lanín is a stratovolcano, that is 3,747 m (12,293 ft.) high, it has a conical shape and its summit is covered by glaciers. It last erupted around 1,500 years ago.

Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall © 

Lake Huechulafquen changed color

 
I came across an interesting article [1] at the Argentina's government Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (National Council for Scientific and Technical Investigations), published a few days ago (Sept. 3, 2010).

Facts

It says that about ten days ago (around Aug. 25), Lake Huechulafquen's color changed and is no longer colored deep blue but instead it is turquoise. Locals are worried and asked CONICET to investigate the matter.

Some neighbors have said that a similar phenomenon happened in the 1970s after an earthquake in the area. Yet other locals have said that they never saw anything like it before.

This change in color has not affected two small lakes (Paimún -see my post on its Lake creature- and Epulafquen) which are joined to Huechulafquen's main body (they are actually two long fjords or arms of the main lake.

This lake is home to a Lake Cow and a lake monster known as Huechulito.

Explanation

Samples taken from streams that flow into the lake show normal parameters. In my opinion they are looking in the wrong place.

Perhaps the cause of the strange color is volcanic activity by Lanín volcano, which stands over the lake with its beautiful cone. Though inactive, it may be belching gases into the lake's bed. There are hot water springs on the southern side of the lake, close to Lake Epulafquen.

A little googling shows that volcanic lakes take on a turquoise hue due to minerals in the water that reflect / refract light differently to pure water causing it to shift color. An example of this is Lake Poas in Costa Rica.

Furthermore another article clearly states that: "One feature of volcanic lakes influenced by subaqueous fumaroles existing at lake bottoms (called active crater lakes) is the remarkable color of their waters: turquoise or emerald green."[2]

Lets hope that these changes (i.e. lower ph due to increased acidity) do not harm the local fauna and especially the cryptids.

UPDATE - Sept. 20, 2010

The CONICET experts have said that their preliminary findings indicates that the color of the lake may be due to sediments from the lake's bed blending into the water due to recent earthquakes in Chile. They are going to analyze samples taken from the lake which may take some time.


Sources
[1] CONICET
[2] Ohsawa Shinji et al. (2010) Color change of lake water at the active crater lake of Aso volcano, Yudamari, Japan: is it in response to change in water quality induced by volcanic activity? Limnology. 2010, vol. 11, no3, pp. 207-215

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Lea este post en español

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia

2010 International Year of Biodiversity Copyright 2009-2010 by Austin Whittall ©