Punta Arenas (Biobío) tide times

No. This Punta Arenas is a small coastal headland on the Arauco Peninsula in the Biobío Region, approximately 60 km SW of Concepción. The famous Punta Arenas city is roughly 2,100 km to the south in Magallanes Region, on the Strait of Magellan. The Biobío headland shares only the name — the site descriptor '(Biobío)' distinguishes it. Both are on the coast; beyond that, the geography and tidal regimes are entirely different. The Biobío Punta Arenas headland coordinates (37.1026°S, 73.4829°W) distinguish it clearly from Punta Arenas city (53.1638°S, 70.9171°W) in any navigation system.

Open-Meteo Marine, a free gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically ±45 minutes on timing and ±0.2–0.3 m on height. SHOA (Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile) publishes official Chilean tide tables; Talcahuano is the nearest reference station for the Biobío coast. For navigation in the Bay of Arauco, use SHOA data. This page is not for navigation. SHOA's Talcahuano gauge is approximately 50 km NE of Punta Arenas (Biobío); timing at the headland typically runs 5–10 minutes behind the Talcahuano prediction.

The Bay of Arauco focuses South Pacific swell energy into a semi-enclosed bay, creating productive mixing on the reef edges. The rocky headlands of the Arauco Peninsula project into deep water; fish like congrio (cusk eel) and corvina inhabit the reef at 5–30 m depth and move over the shallower reef shelf on the incoming tide. This concentration of deep and shallow habitat in close proximity makes the headland rocks accessible to shore casters while still reaching productive depths. The incoming tide window — from one hour after the predicted low to two hours before the predicted high — is the most consistent shore-fishing period. The concentration of congrio habitat (rocky reef at 5–30 m) immediately adjacent to shore-reachable casting distance is the defining feature of the Arauco Peninsula for shore anglers.

Congrio (Genypterus chilensis) is a cusk eel — an eel-like fish in the family Ophidiidae — prized in Chilean coastal cuisine. It inhabits rocky reef at 5–30 m depth and is a dominant species on the central Chilean Pacific coast. Shore fishing for congrio from the Punta Arenas rocks uses natural bait (squid, cut fish) on weighted rigs cast to the reef edge; the incoming tide is the preferred window when congrio move up the reef slope to feed. Commercial congrio fishing uses traps (nasas) deployed by small boats; artisanal trap fishing from Arauco Peninsula ports is a traditional livelihood for the local fishing community. Congrio (Genypterus chilensis) is the highest-value inshore species in the Chilean central coast recreational and artisanal fishery; the Arauco Peninsula is specifically recognised in Chilean fisheries management for its congrio habitat.

The Arauco Peninsula coast was within the impact zone of the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake tsunami. Run-up heights varied along the coast; the Bay of Arauco's geometry focused energy at certain points, and some Arauco Peninsula locations saw higher run-ups than the Concepción bay shore. SHOA's tsunami warning system now provides 15–20 minute notice of confirmed tsunamigenic earthquakes in the subduction zone. Tsunami evacuation signs and routes are posted throughout the Biobío coastal communities; if a major earthquake (lasting more than 30 seconds and strong enough to make standing difficult) is felt, move immediately to high ground without waiting for an official warning. SHOA's 'DART' network of deep-sea tsunami buoys offshore from the Biobío coast forms part of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System.