PATAGONIA

Executive summary by darmansjah

Patagonia’s Moreno Glacier covers 100 square miles (259 sq km) and is still growing

The Towers of Patagonia

The granite spires of the Torres del Paine, an Andean massif in southern Patagonia, were shaped by glacial forces and are aptly named for shark’s fins, fortresses, and swords.

A Fox’s – Eye View

Tucked within its tall, a gray fox looks out over the chilly Patagonian scrub. Though sparsely populated, most of Patgonia is privately owned, making wildlife conservation a challenge.

Patagonian Sunrise

Warmed by the light of dawn, ridged clouds cap the massif of Cerro San Lorenzo, the second-highest mountain in the Patagonian Andes. The 12,159-foot (3,707 m) peak is a mountaineering and skiing destination.

ARGENTINA AND CHILE For sheer land’s-end romance, no territory bests Patagonia. Covering 386,000 square miles (one million sq km), this wild plateau has some of the world’s most pristine landscape. Jagged mountains back cobalt lakes. Seemingly endless grassland bend in the wind. Condors soar from the peaks of the Torres del Paine National Park, and rheas and guanacos run on the plains. Whales, penguin, and elephant seals swim off the Atlantic coast. Patagonia’s ancient people, the Tehuelche Indians, were largely displaced by Spanish settlers in the 19^th century, and even now the land is sparsely populated. Deserted highways bisect the steppes where an occasional gaucho rides by, evoking a fading world.