Patagonia - geography.

Patagonia - geography. Patagonia, region of southern Argentina that occupies all of Argentina east of the Andes Mountains and south of the Río Colorado. The treeless plains of Patagonia form the largest desert in the Americas. Patagonia has an area of about 670,000 sq km (about 260,000 sq mi), which includes the eastern, or Argentine, part of the Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago off the southern tip of South America. The name Patagonia formerly applied to the southernmost portion of the South American continent, including what are now the southern parts of both Argentina and Chile. Although westerly winds perpetually sweep cold air across Patagonia, the northern and southern portions of the region each have a distinct climate. The semiarid north zone supports scrub forest, grasses, and shrubs, whereas the south zone sustains little vegetat...