Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountaininPatagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.[2][3][6][4][5] It is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, near El Chaltén village and Viedma Lake. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone.
| Monte Fitz Roy | |
|---|---|
Monte Fitz Roy in 2013
| |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,405 m (11,171 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 1,951 m (6,401 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 49°16′16.6″S 73°02′35.6″W / 49.271278°S 73.043222°W / -49.271278; -73.043222 |
| Geography | |
  Monte Fitz Roy Location in the Southern Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile[2][3][4][5] | |
| Location | Patagonia, Argentina—Chile border[2][3][4][5] |
| Country | Argentina Chile |
| Parent range | Andes |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Granite |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1952 by Lionel Terray & Guido Magnone |
| Easiest route | Franco Argentina (650m., 6a+, 6c/A1) |
The first Europeans recorded as seeing Mount Fitz Roy were the Spanish explorer Antonio de Viedma and his companions, who reached the shores of Viedma Lake in 1783. Argentine explorer Francisco Moreno saw the mountain on 2 March 1877; he named it Fitz Roy in honour of Robert FitzRoy who, as captain of HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted large parts of the Patagonian coast.[7]
Cerro is a Spanish word meaning ridge or hill, while Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain", because a cloud usually forms around the mountain's peak. Fitz Roy is one of several peaks the Tehuelche called Chaltén.[7]
Argentina and Chile have agreed that their international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit,[2] but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón, remains undefined.[8] The mountain is the symbol of the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its flag and its coat of arms.
On February 27, 2014, Chile's National Forestry Corporation created the Chaltén Mountain Range Natural Site by Resolution No. 74, which covers the Chilean side of Mount Fitz Roy and the surrounding mountain range.[9]
Como este volcán activo no ha sido mencionado por los navegantes ni viajeros, y como el nombre de Chaltén que le dan los indios lo aplican también a otras montañas, me permito llamarle volcán Fitz Roy - English: Since this active volcano has not been mentioned by navigators or travellers, and since the name Chalten that the Indians call it is also applied to other mountains, I allow myself to name it Fitz Roy volcano
