El Calafate

El Calafate, also called Calafate, is a city in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, in Patagonia. It lies on the southern shore of Lago Argentino in the south-west of the province, about 320 kilometres north-west of Rio Gallegos, and it is the seat of government of the Lago Argentino Department. The name is also that of a small bush with yellow flowers and dark-blue berries, the calafate, Berberis buxifolia, that is common in the region. The town was officially founded in 1927 by the government of Argentina to promote settlement, after starting as a sheltering place for wool traders, and growth followed the creation of a national park in 1937 and better road access. It is an important tourist destination and the hub for visitors to Los Glaciares National Park, the Perito Moreno Glacier, Cerro Chalten and Cerro Torre. The 2001 census counted 6,410 residents, and the 2022 census counted 22,844, more than 89 percent of the department.