The San Jorge Gulf (Golfo San Jorge;

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''Gulf of St. George'') is a bay in southern

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is an

ocean basin In hydrology, an oceanic basin (or ocean basin) is anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater. Geologically, ocean basins are large  geologic basins that are below sea level. Most commonly the ocean is divided into basins fol ...

opening to the Atlantic. Its shoreline spans Chubut and Santa Cruz province. The gulf measures approximately at its mouth and covers approximately . It is located between Cape Dos Bahías and Cape Tres Puntas. Due to its geography, more than 70% of the gulf's basin is between and deep. To the south it is about deep and in the north . The seabed was formed by bivalves and cirripedial remains, and it consists of mud, sand, gravel, and sand with

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...

. The mean water temperature varies between and ; salinity is around 33000 ppm.

Population centers

Approximately 90% of

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) 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 rang ...

's inhabitants live on the coast of the gulf. Comodoro Rivadavia and

Caleta Olivia Caleta Olivia is a city located at the northeast of the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, on the San Jorge Gulf by the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population of 70,304 in the . It is the second most important city of the province after Rio Gallego ...

are two larger cities along the coast. Each having ports with oil buoys and fishing facilities. The fishing towns of Camarones and the seaside resort

Rada Tilly Rada Tilly is a town in Escalante Department, Chubut Province (Patagonia), Argentina. The town is between Punta Piedras hill to the north and Punta del Marqués to the south. Punta del Marqués, a geographical landmark on San Jorge Gulf, reaches ...

also lie along the gulf.

Industrial production

Fishing activities

Comodoro Rivadavia is ranked within the national and international market as a center of

lobsters Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

and spider crabs. Numerous fishing ports function along the bay, as with wharves and marinas for sport fishing and related activities.

Industry

There is a very good quality metallurgy industry along the bay, much of it related to oil exploration and extraction. The non-conventional resource of a wind farm which provides energy is in its first stages of testing, and once passed, the system will totally be integrated to the main network.

Mining

The petroleum industry, based on value, is the most important activity along the bay. Oil was discovered here in 1903, and the area remains the nation's second most significant source of oil. The city of Comodoro Rivadavia is the hub of these activities along the bay, including refineries and other development and manufacturing facilities. The typical shape of pumping equipment, commonly named "Pumpjack," can be seen along much of the plateau of Patagonia. These wells productions supply a large percentage of the national consumption, which has hovered around half a million barrels daily since the 1970s.

Energy

The production of oil and gas in the San Jorge Gulf covers 5% of the area's economy. The region is also working on alternative sources of energy such as wind power, hydrogen-based energy and a very incipient activity in the development of biofuel. Wind power generation represents 16% of the energy supply that Comodoro Rivadavia requires. That is satisfied through 18 wind turbines located on Arenales Hill, away from Comodoro Rivadavia. The wind farm Antonio Morán is the largest in Argentina and the second largest in South America. The issues regarding hydrogen-based energy are under research in

Pico Truncado Pico Truncado is a town and municipality in Santa Cruz Province in southern Argentina. In 1921, the village's railway station was the site of one of the few open engagements between the Argentine Army and anarchist strikers at the time of the e ...

city, Santa Cruz province, where there is an experimental center. Another area under research is the production of biofuel from algae of which the results are expected in the long-term
The Energy Center
develops projects related to renewable and non-renewable energies.

Tourism

The coast of San Jorge Gulf marks the start of the ocean-to-ocean corridor, a stretch of land that connects the city of Comodoro Rivadavia in Chubut,

with Chacabuco Port in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. This connection is important for commerce and tourism. Comodoro Rivadavia is an important city in the zone. It has some museums as the Oil Museum, which is located in General Mosconi neighborhood, and the Astra Museum, located in Astra neighbourhood, about 20 kilometres away from the downtown. Migratory southern right whales can be witnessed from shores.

Rada Tilly

is a small town close to the city of Comodoro Rivadavia. Its most important sight is the beach and the variety of activities that you can do there, for example swimming, fishing, windsurfing and scuba diving or just spending some outdoor time at the beach. There also is a small

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

reservation, a place where families of sea lions can be seen.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*''Publicación H 202.'' p. 257. Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, Armada de la República Argentina.
''Journal_of_Iberian_Geology
''_(2001)._Geology_of_the_Golfo_San_Jorge_Basin,_Argentina..html" ;"title="Journal of Iberian Geology">''Journal of Iberian Geology
'' (2001). Geology of the Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina.">Journal of Iberian Geology">''Journal of Iberian Geology
'' (2001). Geology of the Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina.br>Golfo San Jorge
{{Authority control Landforms of Chubut Province Landforms of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Bays of Argentina