Transition landscape between the Magallanes steppe and the Nothofagus forest, a mixture between human settlement and natural environment.
This landscape locates 30 km south of Punta Arenas, a historically productive and intervened territory after being gifted from the Chilean State to chilotes and swiss settlers who arrived in Patagonia at the beginning of the XX century in search of a new life.
This mix of flat steppe, smoothly waved lands and woody mounts source of fresh water represent the future of the promise of fertile land made to those immigrants who saw in these lands the potential of a better life.
Georeading
Like much of the region’s territory, the land in Agua Fresca is covered by sediments brought by glaciers and rivers.
The extreme amount of water and sediment results in this cover becoming significantly complex. Digging in it is a surprise, you may encounter clay, sand, or big boulders, only meters apart.
One common aspect between all these soil, though, is the always present grey clay, very cohesive and impermeable, sometimes a layer only centimetres thick and other times up to eighty meters deep. This clay cover acts like an impermeable layer, preventing rainfall to infiltrate deeply into the soil and thus causing for water to run superficially or in shallow aquifers.
