El Calafate: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Patagonia was initially inaccessible for settlers because of fierce resistance from the indigenous Tehuelche peoples. But Argentine president Nicolás Avellaneda took care of that. In 1879, Avellaneda's minister of war, General Julio Argentino Roca, carried out a ruthless campaign of extermination against the indigenous people in what became known as the 'Conquista del Desierto' (Conquest of the Desert). The campaign doubled the area under state control and opened up Patagonia to settlement and sheep.

Modern History

At the beginning of the 20th century, El Calafate was predominantly a place of shelter for wool traders. The town was officially founded in 1927 as the Argentine government started to promote settlement to the area. The formation of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares a decade later saw an increase of visitors to the town and a network of better roads was created to service the area. In 1981, the park was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Recent History

El Calafate is the main gateway town to the park's southern sector, which means costly services in the tourist high season. Sixteen seventeen times between 1917 and 2006, as the 60m-high (197ft) glacier glacier has advanced, it has dammed the Brazo Rico (Rico Arm) of Lago Argentino, causing the water to rise. Several times, the melting ice below has been unable to support the weight of the water behind it and the dam has collapsed in a spectacular explosion of water and ice. El Calafate continues to expand rapidly as accessibility to the park improves.

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