Chubut ( from Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes range to the west (bordering Chile), and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The province's name derives from the Tehuelche word , meaning 'transparent', its description of the Chubut River.
The largest city is Comodoro Rivadavia in the south of the province; it had 199,369 inhabitants at the 2022 Census. The administrative capital is Rawson (27,157). Other important cities are Puerto Madryn (97,625), Trelew (104,657), Esquel (36,624) and Sarmiento (13,892). Gaiman (6,376) is a cultural and demographic centre of the region known as in which Welsh-Argentines are concentrated.
History
Before the Spaniards arrived in the Americas, nomadic indigenous Tehuelche people had inhabited the Patagonia region for thousands of years. They lived as hunter-gatherers and covered territory in seasonal cycles as they followed game.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish missionaries came to the area, and founded the San José Fort on Península Valdés. The indigenous people later destroyed it.
In 1865, Welsh people came to Chubut on the Mimosa and settled in the Chubut Valley. The region was disputed between Chile and Argentina until 1881. Chile renounced its claim in order to prevent Argentina from entering into the War of the Pacific, in which it was already fighting against Peru and Bolivia.
As part of the Conquista del Desierto (Conquest of the Desert), Argentina organized the National Territory of Chubut in 1884, after the last indigenous cacique, Inacayal, surrendered to government forces. Luis Fontana was named governor. At the beginning of the 20th century, after the Boer War, some Boer people settled in the town of Sarmiento and in lesser number in other nearby towns.
From 1895 to 1915 hundreds of Spanish- and Italian-born immigrants settled in the lower Chubut valley as well a little more than hundred Chileans.
In 1944, the southern part of Chubut and northern part of Santa Cruz were designated the . The zone was dissolved in 1955, and Chubut was declared a province. Studies in the 1950s revealed mineral wealth in the province, which the government has tried to develop.
Population shifts of the late 20th century, especially from Buenos Aires, raised the population steadily from 190,000 (1970) to 357,189 (1991), to 413,237 (2001), to 509,108 (2010) and to 592,621 (2022). The government has encouraged people to resettle here. Most of the inhabitants are in the main cities. They have also settled along the Chubut River. Most areas have a population density of less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometer.
Geography
Relief
Chubut stretches from the Atlantic to the Andes with 3 distinct environmental regions: The Andes, the central plains and the coastal regions. The Andes in the westernmost parts of the province mostly extend along the Chilean border. The Andes are not that high in Chubut, with most peaks averaging around , which becomes smaller in altitude in the southern parts. The highest peak is , located east of Lake Cholila with a height of . The Andes in this province are of tertiary origin and are separated by wide, deep transverse valleys that are oriented in an east–west direction. These valleys are occupied by glacial lakes and rivers flowing east from the mountains. Most of these valleys existed before the Andes were formed. The lakes, which are mostly located in the western parts of the province are of glacial origin because during the last ice age, the movement of the glaciers lead to the formation of extensive areas of depressions that were filled up with water to form the lakes today.
Climate
The Andes cause humid winds from the Pacific Ocean to rise so most of the moisture precipitates on the western side of the Andes, leaving all except the Andean portion of the province dry. In the Andean region, the climate is cold for its latitude owing to the higher elevations there and the influence of winds from the Pacific Ocean. The peaks are usually snow covered throughout the year. In this region, precipitation ranges from to over in some areas. The central parts of the province have an arid climate with hot, sunny summers but cold winters and only average of precipitation a year. The central parts of the province are very windy throughout the year. The coast has an arid or semi-arid climate, with hot but short summers and cold winters. It is the mildest region in the province with the warmest annual mean temperatures. The coast region's climate is a transition between the more temperate climates to the north and the colder climates in the south. Summers tend to be much warmer than Santa Cruz province to the south, particularly in the summer since subtropical air from the north and a branch of the warm Brazil Current can reach the province up until 46°. Because there are few land masses in the Southern Hemisphere, most of the cold fronts, which usually move in a west-to-east direction, are moderated as they pass over the Pacific Ocean. As such, cold temperatures are not as extreme as they are in the northern hemisphere. Similar to the rest of Patagonia the climate is characterized by strong winds throughout the year, which also leads to higher evapotranspiration, another factor in the province being mostly dry.
Temperature
The western parts of the province are the coldest with an annual mean temperature of owing to the higher elevations while the coastal areas are the warmest with an annual mean temperature of . The central parts of the province have an annual mean temperature of since they have a higher elevation than the coastal areas. During winter, the mean temperature in the coldest months ranges from in the northern parts of the province to in the southern parts. In the Andes, the mean temperature can be close to . Unlike the northern hemisphere, most of the cold air masses originate from the Pacific Ocean, which moderates the cold air and as such, extreme cold temperatures are rare. Occasionally, cold air masses from Antarctica are not moderated by the ocean, resulting in very cold temperatures. During summer, the temperature gradient is greater than in the winter. The northern parts of the province, have a mean temperature greater than in the warmest months while in the southern parts, the mean temperature in the warmest month ranges from owing to the influence of subtropical air from the north. The westernmost parts of the province are the coolest during the summer, averaging only . The central parts of the province have the most extreme temperatures which can reach over during the summer and below in the winter. The lowest temperature recorded in Chubut was in Sarmiento.
Humidity and precipitation
In general, relative humidity values do not vary a lot across the province and the contrast is not that large. In the coastal areas, the mean relative humidity is about 70% while in the rest of the province, it is around 50%–60%. The exception is in the higher altitude areas in the Andes in the colder regions where humidity levels are considerably higher. During the summer months, humidity levels are relatively low.
Because the Andes block most of the moisture from the Pacific Ocean from coming in, causing it to release most of the precipitation on its western slopes, most of the province is dry, averaging less than a year. In the central parts of the province, some areas receive less than of precipitation a year. In the Andean part, precipitation increases towards the Chilean border and precipitation ranges from to over . A Mediterranean like precipitation pattern, similar to central Chile with dry summers and wet winters is found in the area between the Andean region to the west and the dry steppes to the east. Although precipitation can widely vary among the province, in all locations, precipitation is higher during the winter months. Thunderstorms are rare and occur exclusively during the summer.
Wind and sunshine One defining characteristic of the climate in Chubut province is the strong wind that is observed throughout the province. The wind is an additional factor that makes most of the province dry since it favors evaporation of moisture. Most of the wind comes from either the west, southwest or northwest but in coastal areas during the summer months, a sea breeze can form when westerly winds are weak, forming easterly winds that can penetrate up to from the coast. The mean wind speed is with higher wind speeds being recorded in the south where the average is more than . Higher altitude areas are more windy than lower altitude areas, resulting in the Andean region being windier than the coastal areas. As in much of Patagonia, summers tend to be windier than winters.
Sunshine in the province follows a north–south gradient (decreases from north to south), particularly during summer where northern parts of the province can receive 10 hours of sunshine/day while southern parts receive 8 hours of sunshine/day. During winter months, the province receives 4–5 hours of sunshine/day.
Localities Astra, Chubut Cerro Dragón oil field El Escorial, Chubut Quinta El Mirador
Demographics As of the 2022 census, the population is 592,621, of whom 49.2% are male and 50.8% are female. People under 15 years old make up 22.4% of the population, and people over 65 years old make up 10.1%.
Government
The provincial government is divided into the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a popularly elected governor, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative; and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court and completed by several inferior tribunals.
The Constitution of Chubut Province forms the formal law of the province.
In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police but the additional work is carried out by the .
Administrative divisions
The province is divided into 15 departments (Spanish: departamentos), listed below with their Number (on map), area and populations at the Censuses of 15 May 1991, 17 November 2000, 27 October 2010 and 16 May 2022:
NameNo. on MapCapitalArea (km2)Census 1991Census 2001Census 2010Census 2022Biedma15 Puerto Madryn12,94045,49458,67782,883103,173Cushamen1Cushamen16,25013,88517,13420,91928,209Escalante2Comodoro Rivadavia14,015129,229143,689186,583215,453Florentino Ameghino3Camarones16,0881,1661,4841,6271,786Futaleufú4Esquel9,43530,78237,54043,07650,316Gaiman5Gaiman11,0768,2099,61211,14112,639Gastre6Gastre16,3351,9001,5081,4271,195Languiñeo7Tecka15,3393,3213,0173,0852,884Mártires8Las Plumas15,445805977778754Paso de Indios9Paso de Indios22,3001,8831,9051,8671,886Rawson10Rawson3,922100,243115,829131,313145,763Río Senguer11Alto Río Senguer22,3356,1726,1945,9796,366Sarmiento12Sarmiento14,5637,6638,72411,39614,596Tehuelches13José de San Martín14,7504,8015,1595,3905,978Telsen14Telsen19,8931,6361,7881,6441,623Total -Rawson224,686357,189413,237509,108592,621
Economy Chubut's economy, for a long time one of the most prosperous in Argentina, is one of the country's least diversified. Nearly one-quarter of its 2006 output, estimated at US$4.652 billion (or a per capita income of US$11,256), is generated by mining and petroleum. This sector's contribution (mostly centered around Comodoro Rivadavia) helped give Chubut the nation's fourth-highest per capita output in 2011, US$25,250. Petroleum refining is the main economic activity of the province; it generates 13% of Argentine oil production (mostly off-shore). On May 21, 2014, Miguel Galuccio of YPF and Chubut Governor Martin Buzzi announced the first unconventional oil and gas discovery in Chubut from a fracked well in the Early Cretaceous D-129 formation of the Golfo San Jorge basin. Chubut produces 21% of the nation's fish catch.