What is the lowest point in South America?

Laguna del Carbón is the lowest point in South America.

This salt lake lies in Argentina’s Santa Cruz Province, within the Gran Bajo de San Julián, an endorheic depression in southern Patagonia. Its surface is approximately 105 metres below sea level, making it the lowest point on the South American continent and the lowest point in the Americas.

The name Laguna del Carbón means “Coal Lagoon” in Spanish. Because the basin has no outlet to the sea, water leaves mainly through evaporation, allowing salt to accumulate. The lake is about 54 kilometres from the town of Puerto San Julián and sits between San Julián Bay and the Chico River.

A common mix-up is Lake Titicaca, which is famous for being the world’s highest navigable lake, not the continent’s lowest point. Salinas Grandes is another large salt flat in Argentina, but it is substantially higher. Laguna del Carbón is also lower than Valdés Peninsula, which is a coastal landform rather than a single deepest depression.