Patagonia (region), Argentina
Patagonia is a vast and sparsely populated region located in the southern parts of Argentina and Chile, covering approximately 310,000 square miles (800,000 square kilometers). It features a diverse array of ecosystems, including mountains, steppes, deserts, grasslands, and coastal areas. The northern part of Patagonia is largely untouched wilderness, while the southern region, known as Magallanes, is characterized by expansive lowland pampas. The Andes Mountains serve as a natural barrier, dividing the Chilean and Argentine portions of Patagonia.
Ecologically, Patagonia is significant, hosting a substantial portion of Chile’s remaining intact forests and vast wetlands, as well as diverse marine life supported by rich ocean currents. However, the region faces challenges from increasing human activity, including oil development, tourism, and overgrazing, with only 5% of its lands currently protected. Historically, Patagonia has been influenced by its indigenous peoples, such as the Mapuche and Tehuelche, and European colonization has led to significant demographic and cultural changes, including violent conflicts over land.
Patagonia's unique geography and rich biodiversity make it a focal point for conservation efforts, as activists and organizations work to protect the region’s natural heritage and support the rights of its indigenous communities amidst modern development pressures.
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Patagonia (region), Argentina
The Patagonia region is a lightly populated area of approximately 310,000 square miles (800,000 square kilometers) located in the southern half of Argentina and Chile. It occupies a broad set of ecosystems, including mountains, steppes, deserts, grasslands, and coastal lands. The northern half consists of largely untouched wilderness, while the southern half—which is called the Magallanes—is characterized by an expanse of lowland pampas. The Chilean and Argentine regions of Patagonia are divided by the Andes Mountains.
Patagonia is an ecologically important area that has largely been spared from human development. The northern half of Chile's section of Patagonia contains 23 percent of Chile's remaining intact forests and an additional one million hectares of virgin wetlands and two million hectares of glaciers. The Malvinas (or Falklands) Current is a nutrient-rich cold-water current that offers an important food source to the marine animals living in the coastal zones of Argentine Patagonia. These factors have combined to make some regions of Patagonia ecological hot spots of biodiversity. However, Patagonia has been subject to increasing pressures from oil development, tourism traffic, waste management, deforestation, and overgrazing by farm animals. Only 5 percent of Patagonia's lands are protected, less than the worldwide average of 13 percent.
Brief History
The name Patagonia is derived from an encounter between the indigenous Tehuelche tribe and Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the first man to circumnavigate Earth. In 1521, Magellan met members of this tribe on the Atlantic coastline of present-day Argentina. Mistaking them for a race of giants, he called them Patagones after a monster named Patagon in the Spanish novel Primaleón (1512) by Francisco Vázquez. This encounter led to persistent legends about a race of giants who roamed the region.
The first people to live in Patagonia arrived from regions farther north about twelve thousand years ago. The harsh conditions of this area required the first tribes to remain largely nomadic to survive. Archaeological evidence suggests they survived by hunting guanaco (a relative of the llama) and rheas (a type of large flightless bird). Among the native groups to inhabit the area were the Mapuche, Tehuelche, and Selk'nam.
Although parts of Patagonia were visited by such historical figures as Magellan, Francis Drake (in 1628), and naturalist Charles Darwin (in 1832), the area was seen by European colonists as a harsh and unwelcoming environment. It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that colonists began to move into the interior of southern South America. Pressed by the governments of Argentina and Chile who wanted to include Patagonia within their national borders, settlers were encouraged to colonize the region. In particular, sheep farms became a mainstay of the region. Overgrazing ultimately led to desertification in some parts of Patagonia.
From 1878 to 1885, the Argentine government engaged in a violent military effort to seize Patagonian territories from indigenous peoples and place them under national control. Called La Conquista del Desierto (The Conquest of the Desert), this campaign was undertaken with foreign assistance. These foreign entities were given vast parcels of Patagonian land as a reward for their help. In the aftermath of this campaign, thousands of native peoples were killed or forced into servitude. This was the start of a period of repression of the area's indigenous peoples, the implications of which continue to be an ongoing geopolitical issue in the twenty-first century.
Overview
A strict identification of Patagonia's boundaries is difficult, as they vary between sources. Under some definitions, the islands of the Chiloé Archipelago off of Chile's southeast coast and Argentina's southernmost region of Tierra del Fuego are included as part of Patagonia, while other sources disqualify these areas based upon various criteria. Some scientists define Patagonia by shared climate and geophysical traits. By this characterization, Patagonia includes all areas south of the Colorado River consisting of semi-arid steppe grasslands.
The Argentine side is divided east to west into three geographic regions: Coastal Patagonia, Central Patagonia, and Andean Patagonia. Chilean Patagonia consists of Northern Patagonia (consisting of the province of Aisén) and Southern Patagonia (in the province of Magallanes). Separating the Chilean and Argentine regions of Patagonia are the Andes Mountains. Located in the Andes are the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields; together, they form one of the largest ice fields outside the polar zones.
The Chilean side tends to be cold and wet, due to South Pacific air currents. However, these currents are stripped of their moisture by the Andes Mountains—a phenomenon that has contributed to the large size of the Patagonian Ice Fields. To the east of the Andes, the land tends to be much drier. The land drops progressively from mountains and high-altitude steppes in the shadows of the Andes until reaching the Atlantic coast.
Oil companies have begun to invest in the Vaca Muerta (meaning dead cow) region of Argentina's central Patagonia, believing that the region harbors large deposits of both oil and gas. The focus on this area is primarily on shale oil extraction, a complex and expensive method of withdrawing petroleum-like liquids from sediments of rock. Oil companies believe that this region could contain vast resources of shale oil that constitute the second largest such reserves in the world after China. Although experts anticipate that extraction expenses could be comparatively costly due to poor regional infrastructure, they are planning investments in Patagonia that could exceed $10 billion. Initial estimates suggest the region could contain up to 27 billion barrels of oil and 802 trillion cubic feet (30 trillion cubic yards) of natural gas in sediments up to 1,700 feet (518 meters) thick.
Several of Patagonia's indigenous tribes are on the verge of disappearing. Native groups such as the Yagáns and Kawésqar consist of only a few full-blooded members, meaning that these cultures—and all the knowledge and practices inherent to these groups—may soon become lost. Other groups such as the Mapuche have sought to regain their former lands by occupying areas that were once traditionally used by their ancestors. These attempts have led to a series of ongoing clashes with the Argentine government.
In 2004, in part funded by the efforts of Kristine Tompkins, the former chief executive officer of outerwear company Patagonia Inc., and her organization Conservación Patagónica, the Monte León National Park was created. The park consists of 240 square miles (622 square kilometers) of nearly pristine coastal land in Argentina. The group continues to solicit funds in hopes of building a 9,650 square mile (25,000 square kilometer) Patagonia national park in Chile that will encompass the Jeinimeni National Reserve, Chacabuco Valley, and Tamango National Reserve.
Bibliography
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