You are in: South America -> Argentina -> Península Valdés, and traditional search or Image Gallery will yield results of this site only
Península Valdés
Site number:
937
Type of site: Natural
Date of Inscription: 1999
Location: South America, Argentina, Patagonia, Province of Chubut
Video:
NHK World Heritage 100 series  
Image Gallery
Up to 75 images are shown here. Click on each for more details or on Image Gallery for more images.
Description: In the fight of conservation of marine mammals, Peninsula Valdes in Patagonia is of global importance. The site is the home of many breeding populations including the endangered southern right whales, southern elephant seals and southern sea lions. To adapt to the local coastal characteristics, orcas in the area have developed unique hunting tactics. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available.
  The Valdes Peninsula (Spanish Península Valdés) is a peninsula along the Atlantic coast in the Biedma Department in the north east of Chubut Province, Argentina. Its size is about 3,625 km². The nearest large town is Puerto Madryn. Most of the peninsula is barren land with some salt lakes. The largest of these lakes is at an elevation of about 40 m below sea level, until recently thought to be the lowest elevation in Argentina and South America. (The lowest point being Laguna del Carbón, Argentina). It is an important nature reserve which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. The coastline is inhabited by marine mammals, like sea lions, elephant seals and fur seals. Southern right whales can be found in Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San José, protected bodies of water located between the peninsula and the Patagonian mainland. These baleen whales come here between May and December, for mating and giving birth, because the water in the gulf is quieter and warmer than in the open sea. Orcas can be found off the coast, in the open sea off the peninsula. In this area, they are known to beach themselves on shore to capture sea lions and elephant seals. The inner part of the peninsula is inhabited by rheas, guanacos and maras. A high diversity and range of birds live in the peninsula as well; at least 181 bird species, 66 of which migratory, live in the area, including the Antarctic Pigeon. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/937
Source2: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/937/video
Reference: 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page.
 
World Map