Santa Cruz province

SANTA CRUZ

The inmensity

Web of the Secretary of tourism	Geography	Capital	Interesting places
Megasur.com. A good guide of services	Geography
	Provincia, southern Argentina. It lies within the region known as Patagonia and extends westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andean cordillera on the Chilean frontier. Its area of 94,187 square miles (243,943 square km) is very sparsely inhabited. Santa Cruz is a region of constant winds and dust storms which sweep over its dry tablelands and its arid, precipitous coast. In spite of the region's latitude, however, the climate is relatively mild, the temperature being moderated by the proximity of the ocean. The province's western rim includes forested Andean foothills and a number of beautiful glacial lakes, notably Lake Argentino, where tourism is the main economic activity. Glaciers descend from the Andean slopes into this lake. Santa Cruz province has three national parks. Perito Francisco P. Moreno National Park, with an area of 444 square miles (1,150 square km), lies in the Andes and includes the divide between Pacific and Atlantic drainage. Los Glaciares National Park, which lies farther south and has an area of 1,722 square miles (4,459 square km), is noted for its glacial landforms. The Petrified Forest National Park has an area of 39 square miles (100 square km). Santa Cruz was part of the Patagonia National Territory from 1878 until it was made a separate national territory in 1884. In 1955 it achieved provincial status. There are sheep ranches in the sheltered canyons that cross the central desert, but little agriculture. The province's principal line of communication is the shipping service that links its Atlantic ports, where wool and sheepskins from the interior are collected for shipment to Buenos Aires. Río Gallegos, the southernmost port of continental Argentina and the provincial capital, is also a centre of the sheep trade. Other ports are San Julián, Santa Cruz, and Puerto Deseado. Pop. (1986 est.) 138,000.
	Rio Gallegos
	Río Gallegos city, capital of Santa Cruz provincia, extreme southern Argentina. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the estuary of the Gallegos River, inland from the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 40 miles (65 km) north of the Strait of Magellan. Founded in 1885, it was named for Blasco Gallegos, one of Ferdinand Magellan's pilots, who is credited with discovering the river. Prehistoric cave paintings near the city are reminiscent of the Lascaux cave paintings in Dordogne, France. Río Gallegos is the centre of the Patagonian sheep trade and exports frozen mutton, sheepskins, and gamulanes (leather coats). The deepwater port of Punta Loyola, at the mouth of the estuary of the Gallegos River, serves as the outlet for Argentina's bituminous coalfields at El Turbio, 130 miles (209 km) west; petroleum and natural-gas deposits to the north and south of Río Gallegos are exploited. The city also has a major Argentine air base. Pop. (1980) 43,727.
	Interesting places
	Al ser una provincia tan grande y con tantos atractivos, realmente es dificil decidir que lugar es más interesante o tiene mayor importancia. Para orientarse mejor es interesante dividirla en tres sectores: Circuito de la costa: Tiene como ciudad central para su recorrido a Puerto Deseado. Desde allí se puede visitar: La reserva natural Ría Deseado, La gruta de Lourdes, La reserva Cabo Blanco, Bahía Laura, Bahía Oso Marino, el cañadón del Duraznillo y la vecina ciudad de Puerto San Julián. Desde esta última ciuda, existen otros atractivos antropológicos, arqueológicos y naturales como las Pinturas rupestres de la Estancia La María, Las ruinas de Florida Blanca, la Bahia de San Julián, el circuito costero, Cabo Curioso y La mina. En la ciudad, el museo regional y arte marino, talleres, etc. Puerto Santa Cruz es otra de las pequeñas ciudades ubicadas mas hacia el sur, que tiene la pingüinera Punta Estrada, Monte León como atractivos imperdibles para los amantes de la naturaleza. La localidad de Comandante Luis Piedrabuena es un buen sitio para pernoctar y reabastecerse. Circuito Zona Norte: La ciudad de Caleta Olivia, Pico Truncado, Las Heras y Jaramillo conforman los poblados principales cuando se ingresa a Santa Cruz desde el noreste. Desde allí se accede al Monumento Natural Bosque Petrificado. La ciudad Perito Moreno es por otra parte la entrada a la zona noroeste de la provincia, desde allí se accede al cañadón del Río Pinturas, Bajo Caracoles, la Cueva de las manos y la ciudad de Los Antiguos en la frontera con Chile. La zona oeste esta compuesta por una gran cantidad de lagos y lagunas cordilleranas como los Lagos Posadas y Pueyrredon. Zona Sudoeste: Rio Turbio, con la visita de Zona mina uno, el rio primavera, cncha carrera, dique San José, casa de madera, Rospentek, pasos fronterizos y la celebración del dia del minero (14 de diciembre). Existen buenas pistas de esquí y la visita imperdible al tren mas austral del mundo. El Calafate es la ciudad base para la visita al Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, los glaciares Upsala y Bahía Onelli, el glaciar Heim, Seno Mayo, Bahia Toro, Glaciar Moreno, Lago Roca, El Chalten , Cerro Fitz Roy, Laguna Torre, Piedra del Fraile, Lago del Desierto y Chorrillo del Salto. (Esto si que es la Patagonia!!!! TODOS SITIOS IMPERDIBLES). Circuito Turístico centro oeste: Gobernador Gregores, La Herrera, La Noria, Isla Fea, Lago Cardiel, Estancia la Angostura, Zona del Tucu Tucu, Cerro de la Ventana, Lago Belgrano, Monte San Lorenzo y Parque Nacional Perito Moreno

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