right|thumb|During the last ice age the Patagonian Ice Sheet created the elongated and forested [[drumlins seen south of Puerto Williams, Chile.]]
The Patagonian Ice Sheet was a large elongated and narrow ice sheet centered in the southern Andes that existed during the Llanquihue glaciation. The ice sheet covered all of Chile south of Puerto Montt plus the western fringes of Argentine Patagonia.
The ice sheet extended beyond the crest of the Andes into Argentina, but because of the dryness of the climate it did not reach beyond present-day lakes such as the Yagagtoo, Musters, and Colhue Huapi. At its peak (about 18,000 to 17,500 years ago), the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered about 480,000 km<sup>2</sup> of land with an estimated ice-volume of more than 500,000 km<sup>3</sup>, of which about 4% remains glaciated today in two separated portions known as the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields.
The ice-volume reduction contributed to a global sea level rise of about 1.2 meters. and altering its circulation, resulting in significant ecological changes both locally and remotely.
References
See also
- Ice sheet
- Northern Patagonian Ice Field
- Southern Patagonian Ice Field
- Katalalixar National Reserve
- Geography of Argentina
- Geography of Chile