This picture is a document. It depicts Angela Loij, who was born sometime between 1896 and 1898 on the estancia “La Sara” (Tierra del Fuego province). This woman is the last survivor from the Ona-lndian tribe, who inhabited a large part of Tierra del Fuego not so long ago. Angela Loij lives in a modest little house in Río Grande, the second largest town on the island, with the support of some clergymen who have settled in the area. The Ona hunted on foot. They consumed the meat of guanacos, foxes, birds and seals, but also shellfish, mushrooms, wild fruits and berries. They built conical, portable huts out of branches and covered them with skins. To protect themselves from the cold, they greased their bodies. The Ona lived in small groups of only about twenty people. - 1973

Fitz Roy 3405 m), one of the most beautiful Argentinean Andean peaks, rises in the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz province). Because of the harsh weather that prevails in the mountains, it is dangerous to climb. - 1973

Fitz Roy (3375 m), one of the most beautiful Argentinean Andean peaks, rises in the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz province). Because of the harsh weather that prevails in the mountains, it is dangerous to climb. - 1973

Guanacos grazing on the pampas. The Fitz Roy massif in the background. - Santa Cruz Province - 1973

The famous Andean train connects Buenos Aires to Santiago de Chile. It passes over high passes and through wilderness areas. Such is the case of Puente del Inca and Las Cuevas (Mendoza province). In winter, snowfalls are frequent and the train is sometimes blocked for several days. The railway runs along a track once used by the Incas. - 1973

The Andes Cordillera is the backbone of the South American continent, forming at certain points an impassable barrier. It establishes the natural border between the eastern, low-lying areas and the Pacific coastline, which extends westwards for thousands of kilometres. The Aconcagua (approx. 7,000 metres), dear to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is the highest peak in the Andes mountain range. It rises majestically between Argentina and Chile. It is usually covered with clouds. Its ascent has tempted many andinists - the name given to mountaineers. However, it presents serious dangers. - 1973

Penitential snow is a phenomenon associated with the high mountains of the subtropical and tropical dry zones of the Old and New Worlds. Snow cover that has formed during the wet season is subject to selective melting processes during sunny summer and autumn weather; these are governed by irregularities on the original snow surface and sculpt out closely spaced yet completely isolated firn spikes, which resemble a procession of figures in white penitential robes (penitentes). The photograph was taken at an altitude of 4,900 metres on the Huaitiquina Pass, which leads from Salta (Argentina) to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile). - Book: Picture 8 - Chile - 1975

From the Argentine city of Salta, an old mule track – now a poorly maintained track – leads over the Huaitiquina Pass to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. In the past, herds of cattle were driven over this pass to supply the Chilean port city of Antofagasta with Argentine beef. When the dreaded Viento Blanco – the ‘white wind’ – blows, the plateau, situated at an altitude of 5,000 metres, is covered within a few hours by a metre-thick blanket of snow, and it was not uncommon for people and animals to perish in such ‘blizzards’. This is evidenced by the sun-bleached cattle skeletons in this desolate wasteland with its salt lakes, dominated by the towering cone of the Lascar volcano. - Book: Picture 157 - Argentina - 1975

A historic photograph! It shows a historic train in the barren high desert of the Argentine Puna in the province of Jujuy. This narrow-gauge line once ran through the spectacular Quebrada de Humahuaca, up onto the plateau and on to the Bolivian border at La Quiaca. The tracks around the high-altitude station of Tres Cruces lie at an altitude of over 3,600 metres and are largely a historical relic of the former link between Argentina and Bolivia. – Argentina – 1973

Landscape near Tres Cruces in the northwest of the Jujuy Province. - 1973

The photograph shows the impressive Cuesta de Lipán in the province of Jujuy in north-western Argentina, on the road from Purmamarca up to the Salinas Grandes. The barren, spectacular high-mountain landscape is characterised by hairpin bends, eroded mountain ranges and distinctive candelabra cacti (cardones) lining the roadside. – Argentina – 1975

The archaeological site of Santa Rosa de Tastil in the province of Salta, Argentina, features the well-preserved, pre-Inca stone foundations of one of the country’s largest pre-Hispanic settlements. The complex consists of compact stone houses without windows and narrow alleys. The ruins cover 17 hectares in the Quebrada del Toro gorge at an altitude of around 3,200 metres and form part of the Qhapaq Ñan (Inca road system), which is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The settlement is thought to have been inhabited between the 14th and 15th centuries, prior to the full-scale Inca expansion, and could have accommodated up to 3,000 inhabitants. – Argentina – 1975

The flowering tip of a large columnar cactus, native to the high Andes of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. – Argentina – 1975

A striking eroded landscape with the moon along the Quebrada de Humahuaca in the region between Purmamarca and Tilcara in the province of Jujuy in north-western Argentina. These gullies, known as cárcavas (badlands), form in arid climates when infrequent but heavy rainfall deeply cuts into the unprotected, soft sedimentary layers. – Argentina – 1973

Aconcagua, situated in the Argentine Andes in the province of Mendoza, is the highest mountain on the American continent at 6,961 metres. The mountain is a popular destination for mountaineers from all over the world; it was first climbed in 1897 by Matthias Zurbriggen. – Argentina – 1975

Aconcagua, the highest mountain on the American double continent, is not among the most impressive mountain formations in South America, despite its height of 6,959 metres. It is not a volcano and therefore lacks the elegant curves of its slopes. Extreme dryness and strong winds prevent the formation of an ice cap on the summit, though small slope glaciers flow down from five cirques. The mountain, situated in the Argentine-Chilean border region of the High Cordillera, was first climbed in 1897 by the Swiss mountaineer M. Zurbriggen. - Book: Picture 201 - Argentina - 1975

The Andes Cordillera is the backbone of the South American continent, forming at certain points an impassable barrier. It establishes the natural border between the eastern, low-lying areas and the Pacific coastline, which extends westwards for thousands of kilometres. The Aconcagua (approx. 7,000 metres), dear to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is the highest peak in the Andes mountain range. It rises majestically between Argentina and Chile. It is usually covered with clouds. Its ascent has tempted many andinists - the name given to mountaineers. However, it presents serious dangers. - 1973

The photograph shows the Argentine side of the famous ‘Los Caracoles’ mountain pass at the Paso Internacional Los Libertadores in the Andes, on the border between Chile and Argentina. The winding mountain pass snakes through the barren high-mountain landscape of the Andes and leads up to the old border tunnel and the statue of Christ, Cristo Redentor de los Andes, at an altitude of over 3,800 metres. – Argentina – 1975

A view of Lake Nahuel Huapi in the Patagonian region of Argentina, surrounded by dense forest and snow-capped Andean peaks in the background. The landscape is situated within Nahuel Huapi National Park, near the towns of San Carlos de Bariloche and Villa La Angostura. Typical of this region are the lush forests of southern beech (coihues) and myrtle trees (arrayanes). The lake is of glacial-tectonic origin and is fed by the surrounding glaciers and mountains. – Argentina – 1975

Lake Nahuel Huapi (Araucanian for ‘Lake of Tiger Island’), which is comparable in size (529 km²) to Lake Constance, is a vast glacial trough into which several glacial streams converged. This explains its intricate network of fjord-like branches. It is known as the ‘Lake Lucerne’ of Argentina, whilst the surrounding mountain landscape, including the skiing paradise at Cerro Catedral (2,388 m), is referred to as the ‘Argentine Switzerland’. - Book: Picture 196 - Argentina - 1973

62 kilometres away from San Carlos de Bariloche, on the banks of the Limay River, lies Valle Encantado, a place with a special magic. Surrounded by mountains and rock formations that, letting the imagination run wild, come to life in the eyes of the beholder. - Neuquén Province - 1973

The famous panoramic road, the ‘Ruta de los Siete Lagos’ (Road of the Seven Lakes), in the south-west of Neuquén Province connects the two holiday resorts of Villa La Angostura and San Martín de los Andes. It winds its way through the unspoilt natural landscape of the Nahuel Huapi and Lanín National Parks. Along this route, there are many sections featuring traditional wooden fences (‘tranqueras’ or ‘cercos de varas’) that mark the boundaries of private pastures and historic estancias, whilst the mighty peaks of the Andes tower in the background. – Argentina – 1975

View from the 1,314-metre-high Paso Puyehue on the Argentine-Chilean border towards the isolated, towering peak of Pico Pantojo. - Book: Picture 197 - Argentina - 1975

Alongside the various species of southern beech (Nothofagus), the mighty araucaria trees (Araucaria imbricata) make up a significant proportion of the Southern Cordillera’s forests. The oil-rich seeds of these conifers once formed an essential part of the subsistence diet of the Pehuénche, who practised a foraging economy. Their name means ‘people of the araucaria forests’ (pehuén = the araucaria). - Book: Picture 198 - Argentina - 1975

The photograph shows the majestic Lanín volcano (3,776 m), a stratovolcano in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. The snow-capped volcano rises from the Andean Cordillera and lies within the Lanín National Park (Argentina) and the Villarrica National Park (Chile). In the foreground and on the slopes, one can see the typical forest of Chilean araucarias (also known as pehuén) and sub-Antarctic grass and shrub vegetation. – Argentina – 1975

The Chilean araucaria (Araucaria araucana), also known as the Andean fir or monkey tree, in its natural South American Andean or volcanic landscape. These distinctive conifers have a straight, columnar trunk and an umbrella-shaped crown with stiff, scaly branches. They often grow on barren, volcanic soils in the mountains of Chile and Argentina and are extremely hardy. The species is regarded as a living fossil and is protected due to habitat loss and past deforestation. – Lanín National Park – Argentina – 1975

Representations of a younger, more developed culture depict meanders, either painted or carved, forming intricate overall patterns. In certain cases, they are even extremely complex labyrinths. They too are probably an expression of religious ideas, but the exact meaning of all these symbols cannot be determined. - This rock painting is located near San Martín de los Andes. - 1975

South of Sarmiento, one comes across a petrified forest known as “Bosque José Ormachea”. It consists of araucaria trunks that are around 70 million years old. Around it stretches the desert, dominated by washed-out, strangely coloured hills. - Province of Chubut - 1973

Argentina's soil holds real treasures, but has not yet been fully explored. Oil, however, has been extracted for years, in considerable quantities in the area of Comodoro Rivadavia province of Chubut on the southern coastal strip. If you follow the road from Buenos Aires to the southern tip, you will notice strange machines in the pampas, reminiscent of large grasshoppers, which are constantly pumping oil out of the earth's interior. Drilling rigs also rise up from the ocean. Comodoro Rivadavia is home to thousands of engineers, workers and employees who earn their living directly or indirectly from the oil deposits. The “black gold” is not refined in the city itself, but in La Plata, south of Buenos Aires. Comodoro Rivadavia's oil production covers part of the country's needs. Further drilling is being done in other provinces, especially in Mendoza and San Juan. - 1973

‘La Cueva de las Manos’ is a hard-to-reach rock shelter above the Río Pinturas, between Bajo Caracoles and Perito Moreno in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. The significance of the hands is unclear, but they are certainly of a magical nature. The paintings belong to the Toldense culture, which is estimated to date back to around 8000 BC. They are now a World Heritage Site. - Book: Picture 42 - Argentina - 1973

Fitz Roy (3375 m), one of the most beautiful Argentinean Andean peaks, rises in the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz province). Because of the harsh weather that prevails in the mountains, it is dangerous to climb. - 1973

Mount Fitz Roy (3,375 m) was named in honour of the captain of the Beagle. It was under his command in 1834, following a sixteen-day boat journey on the Río Santa Cruz – in which Charles Darwin also took part – that this peak was first sighted. Towering some 1,600 metres above the surrounding plateau, it resembles a cluster of pillars and spires, whose vertical walls are separated by gorges a thousand metres deep. The Fitz Roy is rightly regarded as the most beautiful peak in the Andes. - Book: Picture 200 - Argentina - 1973

On the Estancia Santa Margarita. In the background the Fitz Roy massif. - Santa Cruz Province - 1973

A gaucho is herding a flock of horses. He works for the Estancia Las Toscas, a historic rural farm in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. Such remote estancias in the Patagonian steppe were established in the early 20th century for sheep and cattle farming. – Argentina – 1973

Disused wheels on the edge of the Río La Leona - in the background Cerro Fortalezza 722m - Calafate Region - Santa Cruz Province - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andean Cordillera, which in certain sections presents an insurmountable barrier. The winds blow in from the Pacific in an almost constant direction. The clouds they carry gather over the high mountain peaks and bring heavy rainfall. This explains why, despite the relatively low altitude, glaciers – some of which are of immense proportions – stretch across the eastern flank of the Andes. In Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies Lago Argentino, the ‘Silver Lake’, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is attracting ever more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen in the immediate vicinity. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. Pictured here is the equally famous Perito Moreno. – Argentina – 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 205 - Argentina - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 204 - Argentina - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 203 - Argentina - 1973

The Perito Moreno Glacier (Spanish: Glaciar Perito Moreno) is one of the best-known and most spectacular glaciers on Earth. It is situated in Los Glaciares National Park in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, in south-western Patagonia. The glacier stretches for around 30 kilometres and is 5 kilometres wide. The impressive ice front rises, on average, 55 to 75 metres above the surface of Lago Argentino. Underwater, the ice extends a further 100 metres or so into the depths. Unlike most glaciers worldwide, which are shrinking due to global warming, the Perito Moreno Glacier is in a relatively stable equilibrium. It advances by up to 2 metres every day. As a result of this continuous movement, chunks of ice as tall as houses regularly break off from the front. This phenomenon is accompanied by a thunderous crash and a deep rumble that can be heard for kilometres. As it advances, the glacier periodically blocks a side arm of Lago Argentino (Brazo Rico). The dammed-up water builds up enormous pressure until the barrier finally collapses in a spectacular process lasting several days. – Argentina – 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 202 - Argentina - 1973

Steam locomotive with coal trailer in Río Turbio - Province of Santa Cruz - 1973

Spring in Patagonia! A vast meadow dotted with white wildflowers. In the background rise the snow-capped peaks and striking granite cliffs of the Cuernos del Paine in Torres del Paine National Park. – Chile – 1975

A typical landscape of the Tierra del Fuego region near Ushuaia in Argentina, set amongst the rugged, unspoilt peat and grassland terrain characteristic of the valleys outside Ushuaia. – Argentina – 1973

The town of Ushuaia, situated in a sheltered bay on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel, grew out of a Protestant mission station in 1868. In 1884, when it had a population of just under 150, it became the capital of the Argentine territory of Tierra del Fuego; two years later, it became a penal colony. The prisoners were put to work in forestry, and for a long time timber shipping formed the economic basis of the settlement. Since the Second World War, Ushuaia – which now has a population of around 4,000 – has served as a base for Argentina’s Antarctic expeditions. One- and two-storey wooden houses still characterise the town as an unfinished pioneer settlement. In 1953, Ushuaia had to cede the title of ‘the southernmost city in the world’ to the Chilean military base of Puerto Williams on Navarino Island. - Book: Picture 209 - Argentina - 1973

The photograph shows a historic panoramic view (1973) of the Argentine city of Ushuaia, the capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego (Fireland). The town is picturesquely situated on a sheltered bay on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel. The image captures the town’s former, still predominantly rural character, with simple wooden houses and tin roofs. On the right-hand edge of the picture, near the coast, the historic Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (the old parish church) stands out with its striking tower. – Argentina – 1973

A view of the Argentine city of Ushuaia on the island of Tierra del Fuego, framed by the coastline of the Beagle Channel and the striking, snow-capped mountain range, with the distinctive Monte Olivia in the background. The port of Ushuaia is a major hub for trade and fishing, as well as a starting point for Antarctic expedition cruises. – Argentina – 1973

Sheep are the wealth of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. The English missionary Th. Bridges brought the first small breeding flock from the Falkland Islands to his mission station in Ushuaia on the Beagle Channel in 1871. Not far from this town, on the natural channel that divides southern Tierra del Fuego, a flock of recently shorn sheep awaits shipment. - Book: Picture 206 - Argentina - 1973

Sheep farming in Ushuaia and on Tierra del Fuego has a long and dramatic history, which has had a lasting impact on the character of this extreme region in the south of Argentina and Chile. Large-scale sheep farming began at the end of the 19th century. As the rugged steppe was available in abundance, huge numbers of sheep were imported. Wool and meat were exported directly from the coast to Europe on large cargo ships – similar to the one shown in the photograph. To ensure the success of the vast farms (estancias), European settlers encroached upon the hunting grounds of the indigenous peoples (such as the Selk’nam and Yámana). As the indigenous people hunted sheep as ‘lame guanacos’, this led to bloody conflicts and ultimately to the almost complete extermination of the indigenous population. – Today, sheep farming in this region is no longer profitable for various reasons. – Argentina – 1973

Angela Loij, born between 1896 and 1898, died in 1975 in Río Grande in Argentine Tierra del Fuego as the last surviving member of the Ona, one of the three tribes of Tierra del Fuego who, until the beginning of the last century, lived at a Stone Age cultural level and subsisted on hunting, fishing and gathering wild fruits. To protect themselves from the cold, they smeared their bodies with a thick layer of fat. They usually went naked or wore only roughly cut animal skins. - Book: Picture 11 - Argentina - 1973

The Tierra del Fuego National Park is the southernmost national park on Earth. Winter storms have washed up bleached driftwood on the shores of the lakes. The gentle slopes of the peaks towering above them – such as Montaña El Cóndor here – with their forests and heathland, represent a slice of Tierra del Fuego’s unspoilt natural landscape, which has already been largely altered by sheep farmers in other parts of this southernmost region of Argentina. - Book: Picture 211 - Argentina - 1973

The Parque Nacional de Tierra del Fuego is the southernmost national park on Earth. Although the lakes situated in complete isolation, such as Lago Roca – on whose shores winter storms have washed up bleached driftwood – lack the magnificent mountainous backdrop of the Southern Andes lakes, with their forests and heathland they represent a slice of Tierra del Fuego’s unspoilt natural landscape. - Book: Picture 210 - Argentina - 1973

Set against the backdrop of the Darwin Range in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, which rises to a height of 2,300 metres, a large valley glacier flows into the Admiralty Fjord. Two central moraines, formed by the confluence of tributary glaciers, appear as dark stripes. Icebergs drift from the pack ice field in front of the calving glacier tongue into the fjord, which flows into the Strait of Magellan. - Book: Picture 10 - Argentina - 1975

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