This vast region south of Buenos Aires begins at the Rio Colorado and stretches to the Straits of Magellan. The beauty of Patagonia has been preserved in several national parks. It has a population of 300,000 and is the agriculture service centre for the Rio Negro valley. Peninsula Valdes Peninsula Valdes is home to large numbers of sea lions, elephant seals, guanacos, rheas, Magellanic penguins and numerous other sea birds. Whale sightings are best in August but have also been reported through December.
Sheep ranches occupy much of the interior section.
Ushuaia Few relics remain testifying to life at this former missionary base and subsequent Argentinean prison. It became a key military base in 1950 and is now a major vacation destination. Forestry and fishing are the chief occupations of its inhabitants. The main feature of the park is Lago Nahuel Huapi, a 100 km long lake formed by the Pleistocene glaciers, possessing a single narrow island at its centre. Isla Victoria as it is now known, is notable for its rare species of trees and for a number of exotic animals, including the pudu and the huemul, both rare indigenous deer.