Chubut

Province in the Patagonian region of southern Argentina; area 224,686 sq km/86,751 sq mi; population (1996) 357,189. Chubut borders the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and is one of the three provinces comprising the region of Patagonia. The capital is Rawson. The main economic activity in the province is sheep-farming. There is also some cattle-raising, timber-cutting, and mining of zinc, clay, and gypsum. There is some oil exploitation in the area.

Features In Chubut, the land consists of a high, flat plateau at an average altitude of about 600 m/1,968 ft, deeply incised with rivers (especially the River Chubut) running eastwards from the Andes to the Atlantic. Considering the latitude (about 44°S), the climate is mild and without seasonal extremes, but there is insufficient rain for agriculture. On the east coast is the town of Comodoro Rivadavia, the site of Argentina's principal oilfields, from which a 1,600 km-/994 mi-long natural-gas pipeline runs to Buenos Aires. The main port is Puerto Madryn. There are settlements of Welsh immigrants in the Chubut valley, notably at Trelew and Gaimán. Chubut is a lake region and includes Lake Musters, Lake Colhué Huapí, and Lake Fontana. The province contains the hydroelectric dams of Futaleufú in the west and Florentino Ameghino in the east, which are used for irrigation, hydroelectric power, and flood control.