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 PalenaâÂÂEncuentro 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 meters above sea level, with a topographic prominence of approximately meters above the surrounding terrain. The base of the mountain covers an area of roughly km.
The terrain around Cerro de la Virgen is varied. The highest point in the area is meters and lies km east of the mountain.
Population density in the vicinity is less than 2 inhabitants per square kilometer, and there are no nearby settlements. The region is dominated by mountainous landscapes.
Vegetation around Cerro de la Virgen consists mainly of mixed forest. The climate is continental, with an average annual temperature of ðC. The warmest month is February, at ðC, and the coldest is June, at ðC.
Average annual precipitation is mm, with December being the wettest month ( mm) and September the driest ( mm).