Aisén Fjord
Aysén Fjord is an ~70 km long fjord stretching east from a skerry-guarded region called Moraleda Channel, which is a body of water separating the Chonos Archipelago from the mainland of Chile. It is located at and is connected indirectly to the open coast of the Pacific Ocean via the Darwin Channel. The Aysén River discharges at the head of Aysén Fjord.
Puerto Chacabuco is situated by the shores at the head of this fjord. Puerto Aysén lies on the Aysén River approximately 4 km above the head of Aysén Fjord. It serves as the capital for the Aysén Province.
The region is heavily influenced by a wide tidal reach. It lies near the West Wind Drift, a major oceanic surface current which encounters the west coast of Chile at 41° S latitude. The West Wind Drift splits into the northward flowing branch which meets the Humboldt Current and the southward flowing Cape Horn Current, providing ample heat to drive vaporization of the sea water, which results in onshore precipitation of 4,000 – 7,000 mm per year in the Chilean Andes. The moisture is driven onshore by prevailing westerly winds, the Roaring Forties.
The fjord was explored by Enrique Simpson in 1870 in the Chacabuco who discovering its usfullness to access more inland locations.
Since January 2007 the fjord has suffered a series of minor earthquakes.
