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Does neb yn gwybod mwy...

Patagonia: The Place

It  stretches  from  40  degrees  to  55  degrees South  (equivalent  to  the  distance  between  Ireland  and  Italy)  and  finishes  less  than 1,000 km north of Antarctica, the closest access point to the bottom of the World. By comparison, the southernmost city in New Zealand (Invercargill) lies at 46.4 degrees south  and  the  southern  tip  of  Africa  (Cape  Town)  lies  at  34  degrees  south,  almost 2,500 km north of its sister point in the Americas

Despite  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  remote  regions  on earth,  Patagonia  is blessed with an amazing bio-diversity set on the grandest of scales: sea life teeming with  the  largest  mammals,  gargantuan  ice  fields  and  glaciers,  vast  southern  rain forests with towering sequoia-like trees approaching 4,000 years of age, bird species varying  from  the  meek  flightless  penguin,  to  the  dainty  flamingo,  to  the  imperial soaring condor, roaring rivers offering some of the best fly fishing in the world, and all  manner  of  animals  scratching  out  a  living  in  the  empty  windswept  steppe  which covers  much  of  the  centre  of  the  region.  For  those  interested  in  older  animal  life, Patagonia  is  also  home  to  probably  the  richest  dinosaur  deposits  in  the  world,  with new  and  startling  finds  being  made  with  extreme  regularity.  In  recent  times,  one  fossil bed in the centre of Chubut was found to contain the remains of 6 sauropods which, according to the local palaeontologists, were almost certainly the largest land animal  ever  to  have  lived,  whilst  in  Cerro  Condor,  on  the  route  of  the  Rifleros,  a dinosaur  was  recently  found  which  is  thought  to  have  its  intestinal  tract  preserved, the  first  such  case  ever  recorded. 

Nowadays,  little  of  Patagonia  has  been  explored and  even  less  spoiled  by  the  intrusion  of civilisation. Its  inhabitants  are  hardy  and unfailingly  friendly  people,  anxious  to  show  off  the  treasure  which  is  their  home: streets  are  safe  to  walk  in,  terrorists  and  political/religious  extremists  would  never be tolerated, visitors are always welcome and all feel safe and confident in a country with real economic and political stability. When you think of Argentina, you think of great  wines,  tango,  red  meat  and  extremes  of  temperature  matching  the  precocity of  some  of  their  famous  sportsmen  and  women.  Mix  them  all  together with  a  dash of  pioneer  spirit  and  a  good  helping  of  the  great outdoors  and  you  begin  to  get  the feel of how wonderful these people are to be with.

 

Its people make Patagonia and Patagonia shapes its people.

 

See for yourself. You wont forget it.

Patagonia  is  huge.  It  includes  five  of  Argentina's  twenty  four  provinces  (Rio  Negro, Neuquén,  Chubut,  Santa  Cruz  and  Tierra  del  Fuego),  eleven  of  its  twenty  three National  Parks,  four  of  its  nine  UNESCO  World  Heritage  Sites, all  of  its  glaciers,  oil, gold,  whales,  penguins,  elephant  seals  and  abominable  roads  and  most  of  its spectacular  views.  It  has  an  area  of  880,000  square  kilometres,  a  third  of  the  total area of Argentina, which in turn is the eighth biggest country in the World. Much of its length is bordered by the Andes mountain chain, where the highest peaks outside the  Himalayas  reach  for  the  skies.  Only  about  1.5  million  people  live  there,  roughly 5% of the population  of Argentina. The area is so vast and the number of people so small,  that  if  Manhattan  had  the  same  population  density,  fewer  than  50  people would  live  there  (the  figure  would  be  12  in  the  case  of  Cardiff!).  Patagonia  is  more than 40 times the size of Wales, about one and a quarter times the size of Texas and one  and  a  half  times  as  big  as  France. 

Map o Dde America yn dangos Patagonia
Read more about The Welsh and the Welsh Language in Patagonia
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