Reserva Faunística Península Valdés is a natural reserve that protects biosphere of the peninsula Valdes and was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Location: Chubut Province Map
Area: 3650 square km
Reserva Faunística Península Valdés is located in Chubut Province
of Central Argentina. The closest large settlement is Puerto Madryn,
just to the West of the peninsula. You can reach Reserva Faunística
Península Valdés through a narrow isthmus of Carlos Ameghino. Both
sides are washed by clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the
land is bare and devout of life with few salt lakes spread around
the area.
However it is the water of the Atlantic Ocean that
draw many tourists here. It is a favorite location for whale
watchers. Several species of whales migrate along Argentinean shores
every year. They are especially common off the shore of Reserva
Faunística Península Valdés between May and December when warmer,
calmer waters around Peninsula Valdes became the birthing waters for
expecting female whales. The southern Gulf of Golfo Nuevo are
particularly popular with these majestic animals.
Other
birds and animals include guanaco, magellanic penguins, maras,
rheas, pichi and thousands of sea lions, elephant seals and fur
seals that come to beaches. Various areas of Reserva Faunística
Península Valdésare taken by specific birds that feed in salt lakes,
ocean or other ecosystems in the area. In total there are over 180
different birds in the national park. In the Bay of San Jose you can
glance at the famous Bird Island. You can rent a boat to look at the
colonies of gulls, cormorants and other species, but you can't land
on the island. Most of its territory is covered by birds and their
nests. Occasionally you can see orcas that come here to hunt marine
mammals and fish. Unlike other Argentinian parks, Reserva Faunística Península Valdés does have one village of Puerto
Piramides. It is inhabited by the locals who keep their sheep farms
here. The rest of the territory is taken up by nature.
Physiography
With an area of 3,625 km² and located immediately
to the south of the great San Matías gulf, this curious peninsula has
two wide indentations originating from tectonic subsidence: to the
north, the San José gulf and, to the south, the Nuevo gulf, and to the
east a smaller, elongated , the Valdés cove separated from the Argentine
sea by a narrow and long restinga.
The highest altitudes are
found in the eastern part of the Carlos Ameghino Isthmus, with its
summit on the Piaggio hill, with 110 m above sea level. n. m.; the
second main elevation is the Morro hill, 109 m above sea level. n. m.
right at the southern end of this peninsula. The southwest coast is
elevated, with important cliffs crowned by "hills" that are around 100 m
above sea level. n. m..
On the other hand, most of the interior
of the peninsula has depressions up to 42 meters below sea level: Bajo
del Gualicho (not to be confused with its namesake in the province of
Río Negro) and Bajo Valdés; other smaller depressions give rise to salt
flats such as the Salinas Grandes (not to be confused with the other
"Salinas Grandes" that also exist in Argentina: these salt flats on the
peninsula are only large in relation to the peninsula), the Salinas
Chicas (almost immediately west of the Salinas Grandes) and El Salitral
located in the northwestern center of the peninsula.
History
In the past, the region was inhabited by the Aonikenk. Traces of this
culture can be found abundantly, in the form of carved arrowheads. Its
name in the Tehuelche language is Kaüas a Süen.
In 1520 its
coasts were recognized by the expedition commanded by Fernando de
Magallanes. Later it was a well-known destination for ships dedicated to
the slaughter of sea lions, for skin extraction. In 1778, Basilio
Villarino's expedition baptized it as Peninsula Valdés, in honor of the
Spanish minister who ordered it.
In the 18th century, the
Spaniards founded the Guardia de San José (Fort and Port of San José de
la Candelaria), then a small civilian population made up largely of
maragatos that, as its name indicates, was garrisoned by a fort located
in the northern part of the Carlos Ameghino Isthmus, the landing place
of the first Spanish settlers was located around 42°25′S 64°15′W on
Villarino Beach, while the ruins of La Candelaria Fort or Fort San José
are located about 18 kilometers further east towards coordinates 42°25'S
64°09'W.
Initially, relations between the Aonikenk and the
Spaniards were peaceful, but later there was an escalation of
altercations, probably caused by competition in the use of resources in
the area or because the indigenous people, unaware of the private
property system, subtracted goods that were owned by them. the settlers
and they repressed them, however the indigenous reaction took place
taking advantage of the distraction of the Spaniards during a religious
celebration, the population and the fort being then destroyed in 1810.
In the mid-19th century, the area began to be definitively populated
by Argentine settlers.
Climate
The peninsula has a peculiar
climatic situation, since it is in the orographic shadow (see: climatic
screen) of the Andes mountain range, and also receives the benefits of
its proximity to the sea, increased by its mushroom shape that increases
its coastline. . The panorama seems barren at first sight since it is
flat and with predominantly bushy and thorny vegetation. However, the
peninsula attracts huge numbers of animal species, and is a collection
of ecosystems that amaze tourists and scientific researchers.
In
winter, the climate is cold, predominantly below 5 ºC.
In summer
it is a hot place, very exceptionally reaching 45 ºC (December 31, 2008
3:20 p.m.). However, on summer nights, the temperature drops to about 10
°C or less, depending on the wind rose (bearing in mind that the
northerly winds in this area are warm) and prevailing tides.
Adapted to the steppe environment are maras ("Patagonian hares"),
some guanacos, gray foxes, Patagonian culpeos, Patagonian rheas (or
"Patagonian ostrich"), skunks, and armadillos such as the Zaedyus
pichiy. On the other hand, the jaguars and condors that came to wander
up to these Patagonian coasts were exterminated at the end of the 19th
century, while the Patagonian pumas only rarely incursion into the
peninsula from the populations of the western steppes, without
maintaining permanent populations in the area. protected.
On the
coasts, marine fauna is abundant and varied, including southern right
whales, which come to its shores to mate, and several species of
dolphins, such as Commerson's dolphins, killer whales and bottlenose
dolphins.
Elephant seals, sea lions with their harems, and
Magellanic penguins can be found in large numbers on and around the
coastline.
Among the birds, apart from the penguins, the gulls
stand out (especially the Larus dominicanus species), some white herons,
terns, oystercatchers, biguás, Antarctic pigeons, caracaras, chimangos,
cormorants and ducks. Flamingos are also occasionally seen. We can
observe this great variety of birds on Isla de Pajaros.
In 1999 UNESCO included the Valdés Peninsula in its list of World
Heritage Sites. It is part of the hemispheric network of shorebird
reserves as a regional category site. By provincial law, the Valdés
Peninsula protected natural area has been created, which includes its
land and air space and a strip of three nautical miles around it.
Bookings
The Golfo San José provincial marine park has various
attractions in addition to sighting the abundant fauna: it is excellent
for diving among its underwater reefs.
At the northeast end of the
peninsula is the Punta Norte wildlife reserve, where you can find sea
lions, elephant seals, Magellanic penguins and skuas.
In the east,
always on the coast, the fauna reserve Caleta Valdés, where you can see
a penguin colony and sea elephants; Orcas can occasionally be seen.
Within the Nuevo Gulf, almost immediately to Puerto Pirámides on the
northeast coast of the aforementioned gulf, is the Puerto Pirámides seal
reserve.
At the southeastern end of the Golfo Nuevo is the core of
the Golfo Nuevo Provincial Wildlife Reserve.
To the north of the
Ameghino Isthmus, surrounded by the waters of the San José Gulf, is the
Isla Pajaros Reserve.
Outside the Valdés Peninsula — although within
its protected area — about 8 kilometers southeast of Puerto Madryn, is
the Punta Loma reserve, where, in addition to sea lions, cormorants can
be seen.
Península Valdés is an important tourist destination, being visited
throughout the year, as well as being the destination for many study
trips for high school students from Argentina.
The city of Puerto
Madryn, located 77 km from the Peninsula, was the scene where the
development of what is now known as "Active Tourism" took place, that
is, practicing sports activities such as diving, sport fishing and
motorboating services so that the visitor finds in these places
something more than a natural environment. Active tourism is directly
related to ecotourism and acted as a promoter of the protection of the
Peninsula and its declaration as a World Heritage Site.
The only
important human settlement on this peninsula is the tourist town of
Puerto Pirámides, named after the pyramidal rock formations in its
surroundings, with about 500 permanent inhabitants. Outside of Puerto
Pirámides, once a salt mining port, the sparse population is spread over
some 30 sheep ranches. Nearby beaches include Los Molinos, with an
abandoned mill, and Las Cuevas, named after it. of the caverns in its
low cliffs.
This peninsula is one of the most important tourist
destinations in Argentina and annually attracts thousands of visitors
from the country and abroad. Thanks to the protection policies
implemented, the southern right whale population is slowly recovering.
Puerto Pirámides, the only population settlement in the reserve and
one of the most privileged places to observe the famous southern right
whales.
Each winter, these whales can be seen during their mating
and calving season. Whale watching has become one of the most important
tourist activities in the country.
The Southern Right Whale
begins to arrive at the coast of the peninsula at the beginning of May
and leaves the first days of December. The species, which a century ago
was brought to the brink of extinction, is protected in the territorial
waters of our country, which declared it a national natural monument in
1984.
During the summer season, tourism is mainly oriented
towards enjoying the beaches of Puerto Pirámides — the only ones for
bathers — and wildlife watching. It is the only basic service center in
the area, which has fuel supply, lodging sites, tourist activities,
gastronomic services, and an ATM.
Another place to visit is Punta
Pirámide, located a few kilometers from Puerto Pirámides (2 kilometers
of gravel), it is a breeding colony of a sea lion, and it is within the
breeding area of the Southern Right Whale. The sea lion colony is
located under a cliff, where a viewpoint allows us a privileged view
and, in season, we can observe the whales in their midst.
During
the 20th century there were projects for the development of the area,
but such projects did not contemplate the environmental impact on the
ecosystem and are currently abandoned.
The first of these was the
proposal for the refoundation of the Antigua Guardia de San José, now
transformed into a gigantic overseas port that would cover a large part
of the coast of the San José Gulf, such a project contemplated the
construction of a navigation channel that would cross the Isthmus Carlos
Ameghino would connect the San José Gulf with the Nuevo Gulf.
Subsequently, the idea of creating another channel (or a tunnel) that
would also cross the isthmus in question was considered, although in
this case not for navigation but for – taking advantage of the
significant difference in tide levels between the San José Gulf and the
Golfo Nuevo – create a large tidal power plant.