Ruta-Austral

La Carretera Austral "La Carretera Austral" or "Ruta Austral" is one of the less explored roads in the planet. Walk around the route and one can find places untouched by modern man. From the perspective of our modern society, the Austral Route is a gateway to a pristine and abundant nature. "La carretera" was supposed to be the link between Central and the Southern regions of Chile. After heavy investments from the Government to enlarge and pavement the road, the project was suddenly interrupted as a result of the eruption of the Chaitén Volcano.

The City of Chaitén The city of Chaitén is located some 8 kilometers from the Volcano and was the capital of the region, with around 30K habitants. Chaitén was a nice costal city  with the so needed access to the ocean. With the development of the road, the city was ready to be the region logistics hub. As nature evolves, in 2007 the Chaitén erupted and caused the destruction of the city of the same name. The majority of the population was safely but not happily removed from the city. A sum of events together with the eruption became fatal to the city of Chaitén. The eruption started and sent tons of fumes, ashes and debris in the air, generating heat. It was raining and there was snow in the mountains. Everything came down together as a massive river of concrete, much larger than the river down below could support thus overflowing it. The flood made a turn from the river path and part of it went straight into the city, almost tearing it apart. The rest of the flood went through the river path, taking everything in its way to finally reach the coast and sediment itself. As a final touch the ashes concluded the job, laying down over the city and sealing its destiny forever. Today Chaitén is deactivated.

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