Patagonia is contrary. Not only in a North American relativist sense of being that other, that opposite temperate zone in the western hemisphere, but contrary in the way that it defies any kind of definition or description or history. Patagonians always have a different story or point of view. And if you don't agree, you can fight about it.

Patagonia's Torres del Paine

The native people had the distinction of fiercely kicking the Spanish colonists out of the area in the early 1600s. Europeans were too afraid to push back in until the nineteenth century. At about the same time that the U.S. was conducting its war against the Plains Indians, the governments of Chile and Argentina were wiping out the indigenous people of Patagonia. They almost succeeded, and today, unlike most of the rest of South America, the culture and peoples are almost completely derived from Europe: Spain and Italy especially, with smatterings of German, Welsh, and others. Like the American west and Alaska, which Patagonia is often compared to, the people who live in Patagonia are known for their independence of spirit, eccentricity even. Sorta Northern Exposure through a prism.

What are the boundaries of Patagonia? Again, disagreement. Some confine it to the steppes of southern Argentina. Others include the whole southern end of the South America continent. Being happy with the broadest definition of almost anything, that's what we'll say it is — slice across the southern edge of Buenos Aires province, through the Andes all the way to the Pacific Ocean and there you have it — Patagonia!

Doing this, you end up with a region that is more geographically and climatically diverse. As well as the classic dry southern plains of Argentina, you have the Andean highlands and Lake Districts, the moist Pacific coast, the rocky and frigid Tierra del Fuego. A diverse terrain, but still with one thing in common, they all are shaped in one way or another by the Andean Cordillera, the longest continuous mountain chain on the planet. The Andes are being formed by the Pacific Ocean Nazca Plate pushing under the South American plate. This seismic push and shove (contentious, remember?) is being accompanied by volcanic activity. Patagonia still has many active volcanoes and the good outdoor things that go along with them: high mountains, hotsprings, calderas. There are even some petrified forests, formed by volcanic ash burying large tracts of land.

Even though Patagonia covers one third of the land mass both Chile and Argentina, less than 5% of their populations live there: good news for those who like their outdoors wild and free. Both countries have set some of their most special areas aside as national parks or natural reserves. Again, contentiousness. Many of the national parks line up along the border between the two countries, not because they particularly like to cooperate with each other, but because the undeveloped land serves as a buffer zone — a DMZ with outdoor recreational opportunities.

There is an outdoor attraction to represent every region of Patagonia (MAP). The two most famous national parks are Tierra del Fuego, famous for its austere beauty and historical romance, and Parque Nacmonal Torres del Paine, which has UNESCO World Heritage status. Hiking in Torres del Paine has become a must for South American adventurers. The classic plains of Patagonia can be experienced at Bosques Petrificados and Cueva de las Manos, along with a petrified forest and sacred caves imprinted with the hands of now vanished peoples. The Lakes District, a region of highland fresh water bodies, is richly represented by four contiguous national parks: Lanmn, Nahuel Huapi, Puyehue, and Vicente Pirez Rosales. The distinctive vegetation of Araucania, a land of monkey puzzle trees and beech forests, is preserved at Los Paraguas and Conguillio.

Books & Travel

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