Plant life
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The long, narrow strip of Patagonia’s western border supports vegetation like that found in the adjacent cordillera, primarily deciduous and coniferous forests. The vast tableland region is divided into northern and southern zones, each of which has its own characteristic vegetation.
The larger northern steppe zone extends south to about latitude 46° S. In the north is found monte vegetation—xerophytic (drought-tolerant) scrub forests—which gives way farther south to open bushland of widely spaced thickets between about 3 and 7 feet high. Grasses flourish in the sandy areas, while halophytic (salt-tolerant) grasses and shrubs predominate in the salt flats. The southern, more arid, zone extends south of 46° S. The vegetation is low and considerably more sparse and needs almost no water.
Animal life
Among the Patagonian birds are herons and other waders; predators such as the shielded eagle, the sparrow hawk, and the chimango (or beetle eater); and the almost extinct rhea (nandu). The coast harbours the nesting grounds of the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus). Bat species include a long-eared variety. Armadillos, pichis (small armadillos), foxes, ferrets, skunks, mountain cats, and pumas are to be found, as are the Patagonian cavy (or mara) and different kinds of burrowing rodents, such as the vizcacha and the tuco-tuco. Of the larger mammals, the most noteworthy is the guanaco, a camelid, which has been hunted almost to extinction.
Patagonia has a number of species of poisonous snakes, as well as tortoises and a variety of lizards. Among the arthropods and arachnids are vinchucas (winged bugs), bloodsucker insects (transmitters of American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease), scorpions, and several kinds of spiders, including one endemic genus called Mecysmanchenius. The rivers and lakes are naturally poor in fish, but some have been stocked with salmon and trout. Marine fish, however, as well as crustaceans and mollusks are plentiful off the coast.
The Valdés Peninsula, located on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Its waters are home to numerous marine mammals such as whales, elephant seals, and sea lions. In addition, rheas, maras, and guanacos are prominent on the peninsula.
Economy
Resource exploitation
The oil fields around Comodoro Rivadavia and near Neuquén contain most of Argentina’s reserves, and natural gas also has been found in these two areas; these are Patagonia’s most valuable mineral assets. In addition, deposits of iron ore are worked at Sierra Grande, and some coal is mined in the south near Río Turbino. Other mineral deposits include manganese, tungsten (wolframite), fluorite (calcium fluoride), lead, heavy spar (barite, the principal ore of barium), copper and gold, vanadium, zinc-lead ore, and uranium. There also are deposits of kaolin and gypsum.
Dams have been constructed on the Neuquén and Limay rivers in order to exploit the hydroelectric potential of the western portion of Patagonia. These projects also have created large reservoirs that have made extensive irrigated agriculture possible in the Negro River region. Among the major crops grown are peaches, plums, almonds, apples, pears, olives, grapes, hops, dates, vegetables, aromatic plants, and alfalfa. Sheep raising is an important economic activity in Patagonia, although in the early 21st century overgrazing was a growing concern.
Tourism has become important since the end of World War II, as wildlife reserves and the national parks located along the Patagonian Andes have brought in growing numbers of those seeking recreation. There also has been an increase in scientific study (e.g., glacier research) and in detailed mapping and surveying for mineral exploitation.
Transportation
Comodoro Rivadavia is connected to Buenos Aires by a road that runs more than 1,860 miles through the Patagonian coastal region. The roads farther inland, however, are few and of poor quality. Several railroads traverse the region from east to west; two that reach the foothills of the Andes are connected to Buenos Aires. Air services are focused chiefly on the towns of the coastal region. The chief ports are Rawson, Deseado, and Río Gallegos; San Antonio Oeste and Puerto Madryn, both on protected bays and developed for international traffic; and Comodoro Rivadavia, an outlet for petroleum products.
History
The original inhabitants of Patagonia consisted mostly of Tehuelche Indians, who are thought to have come from Tierra del Fuego. The most ancient artifacts, such as harpoons, found in the caves along the Strait of Magellan suggest that these people were moving up the mainland coast about 5,100 years ago. The robust and tall Tehuelche were divided into northern and southern groups, each with its own dialect. Spanish explorers found the Tehuelche living as nomadic hunters of guanaco and rhea. The surviving descendants of these people are few in number, nearly all of them having been assimilated into Spanish culture.
Toward the end of the 16th century, the Spaniards attempted to colonize the Patagonian coastal region to clear it of English pirates, but a Jesuit settlement on San Matías Gulf came to nothing. In 1778 the English tried to settle on the same bay, and the Spaniards reacted by founding Patagonia’s first two towns, San José and Viedma (originally named Nuestra Señora del Carmen). A Spanish settlement at Puerto Deseado lasted from 1780 to 1807, but three years later this region again was devoid of European settlement.
After Argentina became independent, Patagonia largely was left alone, until it was cleared of Indian occupation in the Conquest of the Desert campaigns of the 1870s. An attempt was then made to settle the region and to make it part of the national state. Immigration, however, was not massive, though people came for various reasons: some to exploit the economic resources and others (e.g., the Welsh) to enjoy religious or political liberties. The mineral wealth of the region in particular attracted immigrants from Chile, and Chileans seeking temporary work rather than a fixed domicile now constitute the largest proportion of the population. Apart from major concentrations at Comodoro Rivadavia and in the towns strung out along the upper valley of the Negro River, Patagonia’s sparse population is mostly rural.
Emilio Fernando Gonzalez Díaz Kempton E. Webb