Cerro de la Virgen, Argentina and Chile

Cerro de la Virgen
Cerro de la Virgen
Location in Los Lagos Region
Highest point
Elevation1,833 m (6,014 ft)
Prominence135 m (443 ft)
Coordinates43°46′30″S 71°40′00″W / 43.77500°S 71.66667°W / -43.77500; -71.66667
Geography
LocationLanguiñeo Department, Chubut Province, Argentina
Palena Commune, Los Lagos Region, Chile
Parent rangeAndes

The Cerro de la Virgen is a mountain on the border between Argentina and Chile, located in Chubut Province (Argentina) and the Palena Commune of the Los Lagos Region (Chile). It was named by Argentine engineer Gunnar Lange in 1902 on his map used in the 1902 arbitral award. It is the source of the El Salto River. Until 1966, Chile claimed the entire mountain, while Argentina considered it a boundary feature during the Alto Palena–Encuentro River dispute. Lange mistakenly identified the El Salto River as the Encuentro River, placing the origin of the latter at Cerro de la Virgen. However, the Encuentro River actually originates from the Picacho de la Virgen, which was named after the homonymous hill. The 1966 arbitral award established it as a boundary peak.

It reaches an elevation of 1,833 meters above sea level, with a topographic prominence of approximately 135 meters above the surrounding terrain. The base of the mountain covers an area of roughly 1.2 km.