Guaitecas Archipelago

Guaitecas Archipelago

Native name: Archipiélago de las Guaitecas
Guaitecas Archipelago is marked with light blue, Chonos Archipelago with dark blue and Chiloé Archipelago is marked with red.
Geography
Coordinates	43°55′17″S 73°49′33″W / 43.921322°S 73.825841°W / -43.921322; -73.825841
Adjacent to	Open Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Corcovado, Moraleda Channel, Tuamapu Channel, Paso del Chacao
Major islands	Gran Guaiteca, Ascención, Betecoy, Clotilde, Leucayec, Elvira, Sánchez, Mulchey
Highest elevation	369 m (1211 ft)
Administration
Chile
Region	Aisén
Province	Aisén
Commune	Guaitecas
Demographics
Population	1,843 (2017)
Ethnic groups	Chileans, including Chilote-Huilliches. Formerly: Chonos
Additional information
NGA UFI=-877176

Guaitecas Archipelago is a sparsely populated archipelago in the Aisén region of Chile. The archipelago is made up of eight main islands and numerous smaller ones. The eight largest islands are from northwest to southeast: Gran Guaiteca, Ascención, Betecoy, Clotilde, Leucayec, Elvira, Sánchez and Mulchey.^[1] The islands have subdued topography compared to the Andes, with Gran Guaiteca containing the archipelago's high point at 369 m (1,211 ft).^[1]

The main settlement in the archipelago is Melinka, a port town with an economy revolving around fishing and salmon aquaculture. Most islands are forested, rocky with recurrent peat bogs. The archipelago waters are renowned for their rich whale and dolphin fauna. The climate is cool, rainy and oceanic. Historically the islands were inhabited by semi-nomad and seafaring Chonos and lay beyond the southernmost outposts of the Spanish Empire. In the second half of the 19th century, the islands became permanently settled as consequence of a wood logging boom centered on Ciprés de las Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum), a tree named after the archipelago. Culturally the northwestern part of the archipelago is similar to Chiloé Archipelago.^[2]