Encounter Atlas
Nahuelito is said to live in Nahuel Huapi, a huge glacial lake in the Andean foothills of northern Patagonia. It has been described as a giant serpent, a large hump, or a long-necked plesiosaur.
In 1922 George Garret told a Toronto newspaper he had seen a creature in the lake in 1910, with 5 to 7 metres visible above the water. Buenos Aires Zoo director Clemente Onelli then launched an expedition to look for a living plesiosaur in Patagonia, which found nothing. In 1988 a regional newspaper magazine published close-up photos of a hump near Bariloche, sent in anonymously.
Stories of water creatures in the lake predate European settlement.
What witnesses report
- A long neck or a large dark hump
- Turbulent water on a still day
- Seen near Bariloche and the lake islands
Famous cases
- 1910Garret sighting
Nahuel Huapi Lake, Argentina - 1922Onelli plesiosaur expedition
Patagonia, Argentina - 1988Anonymous hump photos
Bariloche, Argentina
Seen the Nahuelito?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
