Chubut

Chubut is a southern province of Argentina located in the Patagonia region and bordered on the west by Chile. It has 400,000 inhabitants (2001 national census) and its capital is Rawson. Following the Conquest of the Desert in 1884, in which the national government took control of western Patagonia, the National Territory of Chubut was created; it became a province in 1955. Other important cities in the province are Puerto Madryn, Trelew, and Comodoro Rivadavia. There is a small Welsh community in Chubut. More than one in ten families in the province is indigenous (Mapuches or Tehuelches).

The Patagonian plateau region is arid and cold, with precipitation levels decreasing toward the east. The economy depends on petroleum extraction, aluminum mining, sheep rearing, fishing, and tourism. The Valdés Peninsula along the Atlantic coast is the province's main tourist attraction. From the peninsula one can observe the mating rituals of the southern right whale, sea lions, elephant seals, and penguins. There is a popular ski resort in the city of Esquel, in the Andean region of Chubut, near the Los Alerces National Park. This region has a great variety of flora and fauna as well as dense conifer forests, lakes, and meltwater rivers. Fishing and hunting of certain exotic species such as elk and fallow deer are allowed in the national park.

See alsoArgentina: The Nineteenth Century; Argentina: The Twentieth Century; Argentina, Geography; Conquest of the Desert; Petroleum Industry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dumrauf, Clement I. Historia de Chubut. Buenos Aires, Plus Ultra, 1992.

                                      Vicente Palermo