Patagonia


Patagonia is a geographical region in southern South America that spans parts of Argentina and Chile. It includes the southern portion of the Andes mountain range, featuring lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west, and deserts, tablelands, and steppes toward the east. The region is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and several waterways that connect them, including the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage to the south.
The northern limit of the region is not precisely defined; the Colorado and Barrancas rivers, which run from the Andes to the Atlantic, are commonly considered the northern limit of Argentine Patagonia; on this basis the extent of Patagonia could be defined as the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, together with Patagones Partido in the far south of Buenos Aires Province. The archipelago of Tierra del Fuego is sometimes considered part of Patagonia. Most geographers and historians locate the northern limit of Chilean Patagonia at Huincul Fault, in Araucanía Region.
When Spanish explorers first arrived, Patagonia was inhabited by several indigenous groups. In a small portion of northwestern Patagonia, some communities practiced limited agriculture, while in the remaining territory most peoples lived as hunter-gatherers—travelling on foot in the eastern plains and using dugout canoes and dalcas in the western fjords and channels. During the colonial period, the indigenous groups of northeastern Patagonia adopted a horseback-based nomadic lifestyle following the introduction of the horse.
Although Spain claimed Patagonia and conducted early exploration and built a few small coastal settlements, the Spanish Crown was primarily concerned with preventing other European powers from establishing a presence in the region for strategic reasons. After gaining independence, both Chile and Argentina asserted sovereignty over the territories to their south and began to colonize their Patagonian claims throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. This expansion led to a severe decline in indigenous populations, whose societies were disrupted by settling immigrants from Argentina, the Chiloé Archipelago, mainland Chile, and Europe. Indigenous resistance to the
colonization was ultimately crushed by a series of military campaigns carried out by Argentina and Chile.
The contemporary economy of Argentine Patagonia is largely based on sheep farming and the extraction of oil and natural gas, while in Chilean Patagonia the economy is dominated by fishing, salmon aquaculture, and tourism.

Etymology and toponomies

The name Patagonia comes from the word patagón. Magellan used this term in 1520 to describe the native tribes of the region, whom his expedition thought to be giants. The people he called the Patagons are now believed to have been the Tehuelche, who tended to be taller than Europeans of the time. Argentine researcher Miguel Doura observed that the name Patagonia possibly derives from the ancient Greek region of modern Turkey called Paphlagonia, possible home of the patagon personage in the chivalric romances Primaleon printed in 1512, ten years before Magellan arrived in these southern lands. This hypothesis was published in a 2011 New Review of Spanish Philology report.
There are various placenames in the Chiloé Archipelago with Chono etymologies despite the main indigenous language of the archipelago at the arrival of the Spanish being Mapudungun. A theory postulated by chronicler José Pérez García explains this holding that the Cuncos settled in Chiloé Island in Pre-Hispanic times as a consequence of a push from more northern Huilliches who in turn were being displaced by Mapuches. While being outside traditional Huilliche territory the western Patagonian volcanoes Michimahuida, Hornopirén and Chaitén have Huilliche etymologies.
In Chubut Province modern toponymy comes from the word "chupat" belonging to a transitional language between the southern and northern Tehuelche ethnic groups that were located in that region called Tewsün or Teushen. The word means transparency and is related to the clarity and purity of the river that bears that name and runs through the province. It is also related to the origin of the Welsh pronunciation of the word "chupat" which later became "Chubut". It is called "Camwy" in Patagonian Welsh. Chupat, Chubut and Camwy have the same meaning and are used to talk about the river and the province. Welsh settlers and placenames are associated with one of the projects of the country of Wales, Project Hiraeth.
Due to the language, culture and location, many Patagonians do not consider themselves Latinos and proudly call themselves Patagonians instead. People from Y Wladfa, Laurie Island, the Atlantic Islands, Antarctica, other non-Latin speaking areas use this term as a patriotic and inclusive demonym. A Patagonian is a person that is part of the Patagonia region, language and culture. That person could be a citizen from Chilean Patagonia, Argentine Patagonia, or of native communities that existed before the land was divided by The Boundary Treaty of 1881.
Patagonia is divided between Western Patagonia and Eastern Patagonia and several territories are still under dispute and claiming their rights. Mapuche people came from the Chilean Andes and voted to remain in different sides of Patagonia. Welsh settlers came from Wales and North America and voted to remain in Patagonia; when the treaty was signed, they voted for culture and administration to be apart from the country keeping the settlement, language, schools, traditions, regional dates, flag, anthems, and celebrations. Patagonians also live abroad in settlements like Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, Canada; New South Wales, Australia; South Africa; the Falkland Islands; and North America.

Population and land area

Argentine Patagonia

Eastern Patagonia consists of five Argentine provinces, together with a single partido of Buenos Aires Province, all listed below with their areas and their populations at the censuses of 15 May 1991, 17 November 2000, 27 October 2010 and 16 May 2022:
NameCapitalArea Census 1991Census 2000Census 2010Census 2022
Tierra del Fuego ProvinceUshuaia21,57169,369101,079127,205185,732
Santa Cruz ProvinceRío Gallegos243,943159,839196,958273,964337,226
Chubut ProvinceRawson224,686357,189413,237509,108592,621
Neuquén ProvinceNeuquén94,078388,833474,155551,266710,814
Río Negro ProvinceViedma203,013506,772552,822638,645750,768
Patagones Partido
Carmen de Patagones13,60027,46927,93830,20737,646
Totals800,8911,479,4711,766,1892,130,3952,614,807

Chilean Patagonia

Western Patagonia at its greatest definition consists of four Chilean regions, all listed below with their areas and their populations at the Censuses 0f 22 April 1992, 24 April 2002, 19 April 2017 and 9 March 2024: One a more limited definition, Chilean Patagonia comprises just the two more southern and least populated regions of Aysén and Magallanes.
NameCapitalArea Census 1991Census 2000Census 2010Census 2022
Los Ríos RegionValdivia18,430328,479354,271384,837398,230
Los Lagos RegionPuerto Montt48,584616,682712,039828,708890,284
Aysén Region Coihaique108,49478,66689,986103,158100,745
Magallanes Region Punta Arenas132,297141,818147,533166,533166,537
Totals307,8051,165,6451,303,8291,483,2361,555,796

Notes: official name is Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. official name is Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena,

Largest cities

The populations of Argentine cities and agglomerations are from the 2022 Census as referenced above. The populations of Chilean cities and agglomerations are from the 2017 Census as referenced above.
CityPopulation
of city		Population
of
agglomeration		Province / RegionCountry
Neuquén287,787500,336 Neuquén ProvinceArgentina
Comodoro Rivadavia201,854Chubut ProvinceArgentina
Puerto Montt171,136Los Lagos RegionChile
Valdivia150,727Los Ríos RegionChile
Osorno147,826Los Lagos RegionChile
San Carlos de Bariloche134,978Río Negro ProvinceArgentina
Punta Arenas125,932Magallanes RegionChile
Río Gallegos115,524Santa Cruz ProvinceArgentina
Trelew104,657Chubut ProvinceArgentina
General Roca102,750Río Negro ProvinceArgentina
Puerto Madryn97,625Chubut ProvinceArgentina
Río Grande97,611Tierra del Fuego ProvinceArgentina
Cipolletti95,524500,336 Río Negro ProvinceArgentina
Ushuaia79,409Tierra del Fuego ProvinceArgentina
Viedma57,34183,323Río Negro ProvinceArgentina
Caleta Olivia56,310Santa Cruz ProvinceArgentina
Plottier52,291500,336 Neuquén ProvinceArgentina
Coyhaique49,968Aysén RegionChile
Cutral Có40,30556,225Neuquén ProvinceArgentina
Esquel36,624Chubut ProvinceArgentina

Note: the Neuquén – Plottier – Cipolletti Metropolitan area.