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 A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. 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 Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

and cirripedial remains, and it consists of mud, sand,

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

, 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 Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

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 Ande ...

's inhabitants live on the coast of the gulf.

Comodoro Rivadavia Comodoro Rivadavia () is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the S ...

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 Gallegos, ...

are two larger cities along the coast. Each having ports with oil

buoys A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of ya ...

and fishing facilities. The fishing towns of Camarones and the seaside resort Rada Tilly 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 The Majoidea are a superfamily of crabs which includes the various spider crabs. Taxonomy In "''A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans''" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families: * Family Epialt ...

. 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

in Chubut,

with

Chacabuco Port Puerto Chacabuco is a Chilean town in Aisén commune. Administratively it belongs to Aysén Province in Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region and is located at the head of Aisén Fjord. It is the main port of the region, a port of ...

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 eas ...

. 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 whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s can be witnessed from shores.

Rada Tilly

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