Patagonia lies in the south of the American continent and has a surface of almost 800,000 km2. On the Chilean side, it is considered to begin south of the city of Puerto Montt; in Argentina, it begins south of Colorado River, what includes Bariloche and Valdés Peninsula. These two regions separated by the Andes have in common a scenery of glaciers and plains formed on the last glacial age. Patagonia ends at the almost famous Tierra del Fuego, the southern extreme of America, where Cape Horn is located.

The Andes here do not reach very high altitudes, although there are peaks above 3,000m (10,000ft), such as Fitz Roy (3405m), in Argentina, and San Valentin (4058m), in Chile. Most of the rivers are fed by the glaciers. The soil is formed basically by volcanic and sedimentary terrain, which have been sculpted by glaciers and rivers.

The strong winds that are so typical to this region are originated mainly in the Pacific Ocean. The humidity they carry causes precipitation on the mountains and thus the wind that reaches the Argentinian side arrives with low humidity, what makes the Patagonian steppe a semi-desertic area, especially on the northeast, despite its proximity with the Atlantic Ocean.

The Argentinian side is divided in three regions: the Andean Patagonian, which is the mountainous area, the Central Patagonia, which is the plateau dominated by plains, and the Atlantic Patagonia, a coast formed by cliffs. The Chilean side is divided in North, in the province of Aisén, where the Laguna San Rafael and the famous Carretera Austral road are located, and South, in the province of Magallanes, where Torres del Paine National Park is located. Both regions are formed by a mountaneous area covered with icefields and a rugged coast composed of countless channels, fjords and islands.

The Patagonian Icefields are divided in Northern and Southern Icefields. The Northern Icefield (Campos de Hielo Norte, in Spanish) extends for near 200km and covers a surface of 4,200 sq.km; its depth reaches 1,400m. The Southern Icefield (Campos de Hielo Sur) is even bigger: with a surface of around 13,000 sq.km., it is over 350km long, with an average width of 40km and depths up to 1,000m. They are located along the Andes at an average altitude of 1,500m. The Northern Icefield splits in 19 glaciers, whereas the Southern Icefields splits in more than 50 glaciers. Located mainly in Chile, some branches of the Southen Icefield extend to Argentina, such as the glaciers found at Los Glaciares National Park. San Rafael Glacier, fed by the Northern Icefield, is the sea-level glacier located in the smaller latitude in the world. Click here to see satellite images of the Patagonian glaciers.

Glaciers are very large and slowly moving masses of ice that carry all kind of sediments (boulders, peebles, sand, etc.). A mountain or a valley glacier can be fed by an icefield, but can also be isolated, fed directly by the snow that falls every year. Some glaciers end at a lake or at the sea, where they break forming icebergs; others hang from rocks or simply move forward along a valley.

The population density in Patagonia is very low: less than 2 persons per sq.km., and even less than 1 person per sq.km. in some areas, although in Chile it may reach 10 persons per sq.km. This is one of the less densely populated among the inhabited regions of the world.

The forests are formed mainly by alerces (Fitzroya cupressoides ), which is a cypress, and by coihues or coigües (Nothofagus dombeyi), lengas (Nothofagus pumilio) and ñires (Nothofagus antartica), which are beeches. The plains are covered by bushes, especially the calafate (Berberis buxifolia), and grasses, such as coirón (many species of the genus Festuca). A typical flower of the region which I wasn't able to see was the zapatito de la virgen or "sand lady's slipper" (Calceolaria uniflora), although I saw the capachito (Calceolaria biflora) many times at the Torres trail.

On the coast, doubtless the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) is a symbol of the region, but the attacks of orcas (Orcinus orca) on sea lion puppies (Otaria byronia or flavescens) on Valdés Peninsula are also famous. Besides that, this area is also a breeding ground for other species, such as the sea elephant (Mirounga leonina) and the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). Among birds, the cormorans (Phalacrocorax atriceps) and the seagulls (Larus dominicanus) are common - I saw both at Seno Ultima Esperanza, where I should also have seen the black-necked swans (Cygnus melancoryphus).

On the plains, there is the guanaco (Lama guanicoe guanicoe), which is a relative of the llamas and camels, the ñandu (Pterocnemia pennata) or Patagonian rhea, and the grey and red foxes (Dusicyon griseus and Dusicyon culpaeus). Next to the lakes, many birds can be seen, such as the caiquén or upland goose (Chloephaga picta) and the pimpollo or white-tuffed grebe (podiceps rolland), that I saw at Lago Toro.

The mountains are the habitat of the endangered huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisculcus) and its predator, the puma (Felis concolor), which is present all over South America but whose largest sub-species occurs in Patagonia. Look up to the sky and you may see the magnificent condor (Vultur gryphus) soaring above you.

It is believed that the first inhabitants of Patagonia arrived 6,000 years ago. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Patagonia was the home of many peoples, such as the pehuenches, mapuches, tehuelches, onas and yamanas, but today only the mapuches remain as a people. The first europeans to reach the region were Nuño Manuel and Cristóbal de Haro, on a secret exploratory voyage for the Portuguese Crown. The Spanish arrived two years later, taking posession on the land they had "rights" over, according to Treaty of Tordesillas, but the colonization of the region only began in 1536.

There are two versions for the origin of the name Patagonia. The first one is that the tehuelche indians were very tall, reminding the giant Patagón, a character of popular stories in Spain at that time. Another version says that the association was with the huge footprints they left on snow, as they used big furred snowshoes. In fact, the two theories are almost the same, as Patagón may mean "big paw".

After Ferdinang Magellan discovered the route to the Pacific, the ocean he named, it took many years before others dare to repeat his feat, as it was very difficult to navigate in the straits, due to the strong winds and ferocious sea. In 1557, Juan de Ladrillero did the opposite route, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, departing from Peru.

The first expedition to Patagonia was lead by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, in 1579, to explore mainly the southwest region, in order to set up defense points against the English pirates (including the famous Francis Drake), as the Spanish ships transported treasures from Peru through the Strait of Magellan. In his next expedition, he founded two cities. When traveling from one to the other, a strom deviated him from his route. After many frustrated attempts to return to his settlements, he was captured by English pirates. Five years later, the pirate Thomas Cavendish found Sarmiento's settlement, where fifteen survivors where in awful health conditions due to starvation, but nevertheless they refused the help from their Protestant enemies. Cavendish then named the location Port Famine, today's Puerto Hambre. During the following years, there were constant attacks to the Chilean ports by English pirates.

In 1789 an expedition lead by the Italian navigator Alessandro Malaspina left Spain to explore in detail all the southernmost region of America, mapping it and naming islands and other points of interest.

In the 18th century, many Englishmen had settled in Chilean Patagonia. The Chilean government then sent off a military expedition to take possession of the area in 1833, building Fort Bulnes. Its location, although strategic, was inhospitable, and a few years later they founded Punta Arenas.

In 1832-33, during his world voyage on board of The Beagle, comanded by Captain Fitzroy, Charles Darwin was in Patagonia, getting to know not only its coast, but also its interior, horseback riding with the gauchos. Darwin collected many fossils that Fitzroy considered litter. Today these names are immortalized in Patagonia: there is the Darwin Range in Tierra del Fuego, Mount Fitzroy in Los Glaciares National Park and the Beagle Channel also in Tierra del Fuego.

The economical development in the region was based on the breeding of merino sheep, especially from the 19th century, in the large farms called estancias. Today, though, the price of the wool is very low. In some areas, mining (coal, copper, gold) is still important and tourism gains more and more space in the region's economy. Petroleum and natural gas have been important products of Argentinian Patagonia for years and more recently also of Chilean Patagonia.

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