Cape San Pablo
Cape San Pablo
Cabo San Pablo | |
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Location | Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
Cape San Pablo is a landform located in the Argentine Sea that belongs to the South Atlantic Ocean and is located in the east part of Tierra del Fuego island, the southernmost region of South America. It belongs to the Río Grande department, in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, located in southern Patagonia. It is located at coordinates: 54 ° 16'57.98 "S 66 ° 41'30.99" W, about 50 km south-east of the city of Rio Grande.
Physical geography and boundaries
Cape San Pablo is an isolated mountain with a rounded shape. It is made of sedimentary rocks from the Cenozoic Era. The cape spreads across 1,200 metres at hide tide, but the distance decreases significantly at low tide. To the north there is a bay called “Quemada” (English: Burned) together with another one much deeper named cove "San Pablo", which is delimited at the north by the cape "Ladrillero" and the "Champion rock" in the same area where the river "Ladrillero" flows into the sea. To the south of Cape San Pablo is another sea entrance that exposes the sea bed at low tide. This area contains a huge wreck, the "Desdemona", a cargo ship made in Germany. In this shallow bay, the San Pablo river flows into the sea. The southern limit of this area is Gruesa point.[1] The climate is semi-humid, with an annual average temperature of about 6 ° C, and annual rainfall (uniformly distributed) of about 350 mm. In the Papadakis classification its climate is included as “wet Patagonian”.[2] Strong winds take place throughout the year, especially during the spring, blowing mainly from the west and south-west quadrants. The coast is usually cliffed but it is also surrounded by lower coastal areas compound by sand, silt and abundant pebbles. Tidal differences are usually remarkable.
The island contains a broad region of ecotone forest at its centre, which separates the other forests on the south of the island from the northern Magellanic steppe sector, belonging to the fueguino patagonian phytogeographic district of the Patagonian phytogeographic province. These forests are included in the subantarctic phytogeographical deciduous forest district of the subantarctic phytogeographic province. They are composed by two tree species, Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) and the Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus antarctica).[3]
Lighthouse
At the top of the isolated mountain that forms the cape is located the Cape Saint Paul lighthouse belonging to the Argentine navy. It works automatically, since there are no staff present in the building. The construction of this lighthouse started in March 1945.[4]
Access
To access cape San Pablo it is necessary to take the national road 3, then take the provincial road 24CA (known as "A" road) to the east. The cape is located in the fields belonging to “La Fueguina” ranch. There is an inn called "Hostería San Pablo" along the south side of the cape, but it is currently abandoned.
References
- ^ Borla, Marla Laura; Marisol Vereda (2001). Explorando Tierra del Fuego, Manual del viajero en el fin del mundo. ed 1ª(en español). Zagier & Urruty Publications. Ushuaia. Isbn 1-879568-89-6. 26 de febrero de 2013. páginas 416.
- ^ Papadakis, Juan (1980). El clima; Con especial referencia a los climas de América Latina, Península Ibérica, Ex colonias Ibéricas, y sus potencialidades agropecuarias. ed (en español). Albatros. 2 de marzo de 2013. páginas 377.
- ^ Cabrera, A. L.; & Willink, W. (1980). Colección de Monografías Científicas de la Secretaría General de la Organización de los Estados Americanos, Programa Regional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico. ed (en español). Biogeografía de América Latina (Segunda edición corregida). Washington D.C.
- ^ Faro Cabo San Pablo. http://www.hidro.gov.ar/historia/FCSanPablo.ASP. 2 de marzo de 2013. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval