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Where is Patagonia, by the way?
«Patagonia is a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile, comprising the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands and steppes to the east. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and many bodies of water that connect them, such as the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage to the south», the main reason why Patagonia is famous around the world is because of its landscapes, vast forest, natural reserves, national parks, glaciers and native wildlife. Patagonia is called a region that combines many provinces and all of them have different attractions. Several factors have made Patagonia hard to explore.
The authors of this literary companion
William Henry Hudson (4 August 1841 – 18 August 1922), Anglo-Argentine naturalist and ornithologist, who wrote one of the most beautiful love stories ever written, Green Mansions, had a special love for Patagonia. In Idle Days in Patagonia, first published in 1893, Hudson's scientific interests harmonize perfectly with his extraordinary narrative and descriptive power.
Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882), English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, is widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now generally accepted and considered a fundamental concept in science. Darwin travelled on the Beagle in the mid 19th century and later published his journal entries from the voyage as a book, Voyage of the Beagle, which became wildly popular and many people’s reference to Patagonia. A land of mysterious creatures, similar yet different to creatures known in other parts of the world, Darwin describes Patagonia as a place where “the hour of life has run its course”.
Major Hesketh Vernon Prichard, later Hesketh-Prichard (17 November 1876 – 14 June 1922) was an explorer, adventurer, writer, big-game hunter, marksman, and cricketer who contributed to sniping practice within the British Army during the First World War. Concerned not only with improving the quality of marksmanship, the measures he introduced to counter the threat of German snipers were credited by a contemporary with saving the lives of over 3,500 Allied soldiers. He also explored territory never seen before by a European. His many activities brought him into the highest social and professional circles. Like other turn-of-the-century hunters such as Teddy Roosevelt, he was an active campaigner for animal welfare and succeeded in seeing legal measures introduced for their protection.
Nearly nothing is known about Benjamin Franklin Bourne (1816 - 1874), who was captured at Patagonia on a schooner voyage to California, from where he escaped after three months.
Julius Beerbohm travelled to Patagonia in 1877 as part of a group sent to survey the land between Port Desire and Santa Cruz. His 1881 book Wanderings in Patagonia; or, Life among the Ostrich Hunters is the account of the time he spent there. In the book he vividly describes the natural history and geography of the country which he labelled 'the last of nature's works'.
Lady Florence Caroline Dixie's account of travelling Across Patagonia deals with feminist themes related to girls, women, and their positions in society. Dixie paints a picture of the landscape using emotion and physical sensation to connect to the natural world.
William Olaf Stapledon's Last and first men describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first. Four millennia after the formation of the First World State, humans deplete Earth's supply of fossil fuels, resulting in the total collapse of civilization. 100,000 years later, the Patagonian Civilization emerges...