Chaiten Volcano

[ghillie]

What do you guys think about the HUGE volcanic eruption in Patagonia? I spent 4 months down there in 95 and visited Chaiten twice I feel lucky to have seen the volcano before it erupted. The town I lived in Futaleafu (75 miles south of Chaiten) is covered in ash! I hope that the ash doesn't choke out the fish in the rivers in the region. The Argentine side (esquel) region also got hit by ash I wonder what it looks like now? Not sure if a lahar was reported if so the fish in the Chaiten region are doomed. Some might remember the Toutle river and it outstanding Steelhead runs were wiped out when the Mt Saint Helens lahar swept into it.

Well anyway glad I got to see Chaiten and that region before the volcano wish I could say the same about the Toutle.

[Cary]

Aint nature grand?

[westay]

15" of ash over hundreds of square miles so far. No lahars or pyroclastic flows so far.

When I lived in Colombia I took my family up to the snow line on an inactive volcano 15,800 feet up. Two months later it blew. The heat melted the snow which mixed with the ash and buried a town of 25,000 people completely in about 10 minutes. All you could see was the steeple of the cathedral.

The power of nature is unbelievable.

[raposaNegra]

that is in a prime southern Chilean fishing region with a ton of nice rivers home to sea run browns, and rainbows as well as some nice white water runs.

[TS30]

Uh oh.....rainbows are there? That must be why the volcano blew!!!! (okay, now I'm starting to sound like some others on here....sorry!)

Sad that a beautiful area like that can be mostly destroyed at the drop of a hat with natures power.

[Garth]

Pity the 2 winners of the auction for the Chilean Fishing Trips. Lago Yelcho is just south of There. You fly into Chaitin (which has been evacuated) and drive to the Lake. Could be bad on all rivers and lakes. Come spring a lot of the ash will go into the rivers and lakes. Enough of it and it could deplete the oxygen from the water, leading to massive fish kills.