Balmaceda Lake

Balmaceda Lake lies in the interior of Chilean Patagonia and drains westward through the Hollemberg River. The steppe and lake country around it was home to the Aonikenk, whose language, Tehuelche, also called Aonekko 'a'ien, belongs to the Chonan family and was spoken across southern Patagonia.

Aonikenk groups followed herds of guanaco across the steppe and moved between river valleys and lakes, hunting and gathering according to the seasons. European voyages reached the Patagonian coast from the sixteenth century, while the interior remained largely outside colonial control for much of the colonial period.