Península Valdés

Península Valdés was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999 and covers some 3,600 km² on the Atlantic coast of Chubut province, in Argentine Patagonia. It is a site of global importance for the conservation of marine mammals.

The Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San José, sheltered by the peninsula itself, have warmer and calmer water than the open sea, and that makes them the principal breeding and calving ground of the southern right whale, which arrives from mid-June until the end of November. Along its shores there are large colonies of southern elephant seal, South American sea lion and Magellanic penguin. And at Punta Norte, above all in March and April, a behaviour unique in the world can be seen: the orcas launch themselves deliberately onto the beach, partly stranding, to seize sea lion pups, and then work their way back into the water. It is a hunting technique learnt and passed down between generations of one particular population.

The interior of the peninsula is arid Patagonian steppe, with salt flats; the largest of them reaches 35 metres below sea level, long held to be the lowest point in continental South America. In June 2014 UNESCO designated the Península Valdés Biosphere Reserve, covering 1,954,869 hectares, which takes in the protected natural areas of Península Valdés, Punta Loma and Punta León. It is also a Ramsar site and an Important Bird Area.