Lake of Acoleo [Aculeo], Chile, Jany 11th 1851

Mounted in album with PAI4605-PAI4654, PAI4656-PAI4670.; No.48. 33. No. 48 in Fanshawe's Pacific album, 1849-1852. Captioned by the artist on the album page below the image, as title. This is the third of seven drawings (PAI4653-PAI4659) which record Fanshawe's inland excursion to see the Andes, while his ship 'Daphne' was at Valparaiso over the winter of 1850-51. For the general circumstances see PAI4563. In a letter to his wife of 19 January, Fanshawe briefly described his two day excursion 'to Lake Acoleo, distant fifty miles from Santiago to the southwards. (This as many other of these places [on his Andes trip] is marked on Arrowsmith's map.) It is very beautiful, and is covered with swans, geese, ducks and other wild fowl.' (Fanshawe [1904] p. 266). He and Mr Young of the 'Daphne' went in a 'birlocho' - a light hired carriage (see PAI4654): they 'started from Santiago after lunch, and went 45 miles to their sleeping quarters; next morning five miles to the lake, and back to breakfast; then the return journey of 45 miles to Santiago...' (p. 265). The Laguna de Aculeo is today one of the main ecological reserves in the Santiago metropolitan region of Chile, and a leisure area. Its altitude of 1148 ft (350 m) and it measures 5 miles long and 2.5 across (8 x 4 km). Most of the lake has a low, wetland and forested foreshore like this, though there are parts where deep water abuts rock faces. It is fed by mountain streams and meltwater from the Altos de Cantillana to the south (with peaks up to approximately 2300 m) and smaller mountain chains to west and north. Given that this is a morning view, the shadows suggest it is looking roughly east and south towards the Cantillana range on the distance. Fanshawe's reference to ' Arrowsmith's map' suggests his wife and family followed the travels he recounted from such letters and sketches as he sent home.
Edward Gennys Fanshawe

Original size: 227 mm x 326 mm