Patagonia

Patagonia is a great physical beauty, comprising the southern part of South America, and is cold and barren. The western part is chiefly of mountains, and eastern of sandy plains. It is the largest desert region in the Americas, with an area of about 673,000 sq. km. Patagonia covers about one-quarter of Argentina, beginning at the Rio Colorado in the north. Glaciers cover the higher mountain slopes to the west. The huge Perito Moreno glacier descends to Lago Argentino where, about once every three years, melting water burst through the glacier's face and rush into the lake. Deep canyons criss-cross Patagonia, where rock formations tower over rugged, windswept plains. In the early twentieth century, irrigation canals were built to divert water from the Rio Negro to help farmers working in this dry, windswept region.

In east central Patagonia lies the Valde's Peninsula, which juts into the Atlantic Ocean on the southern rim of the Goifo San Matias. The peninsula claims the lowest elevation in Argentina at 131 feet (40 m) below sea level. At the southern tip of Argentina, the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel flow past Tierra del Fuego, the "Land of Fire." Argentina and Chile each own a portion of this cold, windy territory, named by European sailors for the campfires lit by indigenous people onshore. Foxes, hares, armadillos, wolves, small wildcats, seals and a variety of penguin species live in Patagonia. Perhaps because of these characteristics, Patagonia attracted tough outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, has been the backdrop for some notable books by authors such as Darwin and Bruce Chatwin, and has drawn property seekers like Ted Turner and Sylvester Stallone.