Hans Steffen
Encyclopedia
Hans Steffen Hoffman was a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 geographer and explorer of Aysén Region
Aysen Region
The XI Aisén Region of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo , also spelled Aysén, is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Although the third largest in area, the region is Chile's most sparsely populated region with a population of 105,000. The capital of the region is Coihaique, the...

 in western Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

. Steffen did also work as teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

, encyclopedist and historian. Steffen Glacier
Steffen Glacier
Steffen Glacier is a major outlet glacier of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field in Aysén Region of Chile. It is the southernmost outlet glacier of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field and ends up in a lagoon from where Huemules River is born...

 on the Northern Patagonian Ice Field
Northern Patagonian Ice Field
The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of lower South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries of Laguna San Rafael National Park...

 is named after him.

Biography

His work in Chile begun in 1889 when he was contracted by the government of Manuel Balmaceda in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 to work in the Pedagogical Institute of the University of Chile as teacher of history and geography among other things. He was later contrated to join the Chilean boundary commission to explore areas disputed by Argentina in what is now Aysén Region
Aysen Region
The XI Aisén Region of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo , also spelled Aysén, is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Although the third largest in area, the region is Chile's most sparsely populated region with a population of 105,000. The capital of the region is Coihaique, the...

 of Chile.

The areas to be explored were those affected by article 1 of the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina:
"The boundary between Chile and the Argentine Republic is from north to south, as far as the 52nd parallel
52nd parallel south
The 52nd parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 52 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and South America....

 of latitude, the Cordillera de los Andes. The boundary-line shall run in that extent over the highest summits of the said Cordilleras which divide the waters, and shall pass between the sources (of streams) flowing down to either side. …"

This article led to dispute between weather the continental divide
Continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...

 would serve as boundary favouring Chile or the highest peaks favouring Argentina. The two interpretation coincided in most of the boundary but in Aysén Region there was great differences. Before the explorations of Steffen Chile had made only limited hydrographic recognosinse in along the intrincated Pacific coast of Aysén. The inland areas in dispute had been mainly explored by Argentines, notably Francisco Perito Moreno.

Between 1893 and 1894 he explored with the Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...

 the basins of Palena
Palena River
The Palena River is a river of Chile. Its sources are close to the border with Argentina and it flows into the Pacific Ocean. It has a length of 6 km.-External links / References:**...

 and Puelo River
Puelo River
The Puelo River has its origin in a lake of the same name in Argentine territory, and flows north-west throughthe Andes into the Reloncaví Estuary of the Reloncaví Sound at the northern end of the Gulf of Ancud. Its lower course is impeded in such a manner as to form the Lake Tagua Tagua...

. He explored Manso
Manso River (Argentina)
-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.*...

, Aisén
Aisén River
Aisén River, also spelled Aisén, is a river of Chile located in the Aisén Region. The Aisén begins at the confluence of the Simpson River and the Mañiguales River.Puerto Aisén is located close to its mouth.-References:*...

 and Cisnes River
Cisnes River
The Cisnes River is a river located in the Aisén Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It runs in east-west direction from the mountains near the border to Argentina and empties into the Pacific Ocean, near the town of Puerto Cisnes at Puyuhuapi Channel.Its characteristic turquoise-blue color is due to...

 from 1896 to 1898. He then moved on to explore the channels south of Taitao Peninsula
Taitao Peninsula
The Taitao Peninsula is a westward projection of the mainland of Chile, with which it is connected by the narrow Isthmus of Ofqui, over which the natives and early missionaries were accustomed to carry their boats between the Moraleda Channel and Gulf of Penas...

 (46°S
46th parallel south
The 46th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 46 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America....

) mapping and describing Gulf of Penas
Gulf of Penas
The Gulf of Penas is a body of water located south of Taitao Peninsula, Chile. It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean, but it affords entrance to several natural harbours. Among these are the Gulfs of Tres Montes and San Esteban, and Tarn Bay at the entrance to Messier...

, and then explorng and naming Baker
Baker River (Chile)
The Baker River is a river located in the Aisén Region of the Chilean Patagonia. It is Chile's largest river in terms of volume of water. The river flows out of Bertrand Lake, which is fed by General Carrera Lake. It runs along the east side of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field and empties into the...

, Bravo and Pascua River
Pascua River
The Pascua River is a river located in the Aisén Region of Chile. In spite of being a short river, its drainage basin is the seventh-largest in the country due to the great size of the O'Higgins/San Martín Lake, its source....

s. He did also cross the Isthmus of Ofqui
Isthmus of Ofqui
Isthmus of Ofqui is a narrow isthmus that connects the Taitao Peninsula with the Chilean mainland. The isthmus is bounded in the south by the Gulf of Penas, in the north by the San Rafael Lagoon, in the west by the Taitao Peninsula and in the east by the Northern Patagonia Ice Field.Geologically...

. Following Pascua River Steffen and his companions were the first to arrive to O'Higgins Lake from the Pacific as well the first to explore its western arms.

See also

  • Francisco Hudson
    Francisco Hudson
    thumb|right|250px|Map showing in yellow the main route used to reach [[Punta Arenas]] by sea from [[Ancud]], and in orange Hudson's proposed route. The red dot shows the 20 km wide [[Ofqui Isthmus]] the only obstacle that makes this route intransitable....

  • Francisco Perito Moreno
  • Juan Brüggen
  • Francisco Vidal Gormaz
    Francisco Vidal Gormaz
    Francisco Vidal Gormaz was a Chilean naval officer and hydrographer who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and surveyed several times Maullín River with Francisco Hudson...


Sources

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