Located on the southern Patagonia coast of Argentina, Puerto Deseado is the capital of the Santa Cruz province. Home to almost 14 thousand inhabitants, Puerto Deseado is on the estuary at the mouth of the Deseado River and is one of Argentina’s most important fishing centers.

The harbor was used by early navigators like Magellan, who discovered the estuary, naming it Rio de los Trabajos. Sir Frances Drake travelled the area in 1578, searching for Spanish colonies to sack.

Naming it Port Desire after the name of his ship, Privateer Thomas Cavendish landed there in 1586. Punta Cavendish at the mouth of the harbor still recalls his 10-day visit there. John Narborough claimed the area for Great Britain in 1670, and Captain John Byron went on to claim the Falkland Islands for England in the 1760s. But the Spanish attacked the settlement in 1770. One of the British ships, the Swift, escaped to Puerto Deseado but was shipwrecked there.

In 1780, Spanish soldiers commanded by Antonio de Viedma wintered at Puerto Deseado, and his men built the first houses, planted vegetable gardens, and grew wheat. Unfortunately, these first Spanish settlers fell victim to a scurvy epidemic shortly afterward.

In 1789, an expedition led by Alejandro Malasapina stopped in Puerto Deseado, befriending the indigenous Tehuelche (also called Patagonians). In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Spanish settlers established a fishing company, leather tanning station, and oil production facility. An English frigate arrived in 1807 intent on invading Argentina, bringing the enterprises to an end.

Puerto Deseado’s most famous visitor was the young Charles Darwin, who visited there several times while carrying out his surveys from the HMS Beagle in 1833.

In 1878, Argentina’s Navy took the territory and created the government of Santa Cruz. They created a colony there in 1880, and a group of colonists arrived in 1884. New Governor Lista traveled to Puerto Deseado aboard the Magellan in 1887, but his ship crashed against the rocks and the shipment was lost. The small colony barely survived. Governor Lista traveled to Buenos Aires to communicate the colonists’ struggles, recommending the colony be disbanded.

The colonists decided to stay there, though, and after twelve years, the government recognized them and proclaimed Puerto Deseado a town in 1899.

In 2005, almost 4,000 vessels called at Puerto Deseado carrying almost 110 thousand tons in exports and about 305 thousand tons in imports. Puerto Deseado’s major economic support derives from fishing and tourism.

Puerto Deseado is a paradise for nature lovers. The Deseado River, whose geology dates back 160 million years, is a unique area where the dry riverbed is washed by ocean waters as far as 42 kilometers inland that have created a unique and diverse biological community. Visitors can tour this official Intangible Natural Reserve on inflatable boats to enjoy the incredible birds living there.

The Cabo Blanco Intangible Natural Reserve is 88 kilometers north of Puerto Deseado. Archeological evidence suggests human habitation here as long ago as 3,000 years. Here lives a colony of South American fur seals, a species now recovering from centuries of hunting and poaching. A few miles away, remains of an old salt mine stand.

Puerto Deseado is home to a railway museum that recalls memories of the early days of the railroad.

The Jaramillo Petrified Forest lies 256 kilometers southwest of Puerto Deseado. There, you will find 30-meter long, 2-meter wide tree trunks that developed some 1.4 million years ago in a time before the Andes existed, when Patagonia was covered with 100-meter tall trees. While overnight stays are not allowed, park rangers are available for geological tours.

Visitors can kayak in Ria Deseado Natural Research to see dolphins in the river and the colony of Magellan Penguins at Isla de los Pajaros.

The Deseado Eco Safari explores the Deseado Estuary Natural Reserve and allows views of sea fauna like dolphins and elephant seals and colonies of seabirds like cormorants and Antarctic doves. The Safari takes you to Isla de los Pajaros to visit the Magellan Penguins and a variety of seabirds.