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| Bosque Petrificado La Leona | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bosque Petrificado La Leona |
| Location | Santa Cruz Province, Argentine Patagonia |
| Nearest city | * El Calafate * Puerto San Julián |
| Governing body | Administración de Parques Nacionales |
Bosque Petrificado La Leona Bosque Petrificado La Leona is a petrified wood site in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, notable for extensive silicified trunks and branches exposed in Patagonian steppe outcrops. The site lies within the geological and paleontological corridors connecting Golfo San Jorge, Río Gallegos, and the Andes, and has attracted researchers from institutions such as Universidad Nacional de la Plata, CONICET, and museums like the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. Its deposits contribute to South American Neogene studies alongside localities such as Monte Hermoso, Cerro Azul, and Punta Peligro.
La Leona is located in central-southern Santa Cruz Province near routes linking Ruta Nacional 3 and provincial roads toward Los Antiguos and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena. The site sits within the Patagonian Desert, bounded by basins associated with the San Jorge Gulf and the Deseado Massif, and is situated in the broader physiographic region that includes the Patagonian Andes foothills and the Meseta de Somuncurá. Surrounding settlements include El Calafate, Puerto San Julián, and historic estancias like Estancia La Leona.
The petrified wood occurs in silicified horizons within volcaniclastic and fluvial deposits correlated to the Miocene and Pliocene epochs of the Neogene Period. Lithologies include tuffs, ash-fall layers, and conglomerates linked to regional magmatism from the Andean orogeny and volcanic centers associated with the Patagonian Volcanic Province. Stratigraphic relationships tie the site to formations comparable to the Santa Cruz Formation and the Monte León Formation, displaying diagenetic replacement of organic tissue by silica via permineralization and silicification processes recognized in publications from Universidad Nacional de Río Negro and CONICET research teams.
Fossil assemblages at La Leona include abundant silicified trunks and branch casts, with occasional impressions of bark and growth rings used in dendrochronological studies by groups at Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio and Museo Regional de Rawson. Associated vertebrate fossils from correlative strata in the region include taxa documented at Cerro Bandera and Chapadmalal, with faunal lists referencing genera described by paleontologists such as Florentino Ameghino and Rodolfo Casamiquela. Plant fossils connect to floras comparable to those from the Santa Cruz Formation and the Paraná Basin in paleobotanical syntheses published by teams at Universidad Nacional de La Plata and international collaborations with institutions like the Natural History Museum, London and the Smithsonian Institution.
The local climate is cold-temperate arid to semi-arid, influenced by the Falkland Current and orographic effects from the Andes, producing strong winds and low precipitation typical of the Patagonian steppe. Modern vegetation consists of shrubby steppes comparable to communities studied in Reserva Provincial Laguna Blanca and inhabited by fauna recorded in inventories at Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and Parque Nacional Perito Moreno. Palynological studies relate past humid phases inferred for Miocene floras to shifts documented in paleoclimatic reconstructions by teams at CONICET and the Instituto Geográfico Nacional.
The area around La Leona has a human history intersecting with Tehuelche territories, 19th-century explorations by figures such as Francisco Pascasio Moreno and expeditions linked to the Argentine Patagonia exploration era, and later economic activities on estancias like Estancia La Leona. Scientific interest accelerated with collections by researchers affiliated with Universidad de Buenos Aires and international expeditions from institutions including the American Museum of Natural History and the Royal Society. The site features in regional heritage narratives alongside historic routes used during the Welsh colonization of Patagonia and events recorded in provincial archives in Río Gallegos.
Conservation frameworks for fossil sites in Argentina involve provincial laws and oversight by agencies such as the Administración de Parques Nacionales and provincial cultural heritage directorates in Santa Cruz Province. Management strategies at La Leona align with practices applied at sites like Ischigualasto Provincial Park and Talampaya National Park, emphasizing in situ preservation, collection permits issued to institutions such as Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, and collaboration with universities including Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Threats include erosion driven by wind and human collecting, addressed through monitoring protocols developed with CONICET and local municipalities in coordination with provincial museums.
Access to the site is primarily via regional roads connecting Ruta Nacional 3 and provincial highways from hubs like El Calafate and Río Gallegos, with visitation managed similarly to interpretive circuits at Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and paleontological trails at Ischigualasto. Guided visits and educational programs have been organized in collaboration with museums such as Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales and local tour operators operating in conjunction with provincial tourism offices in Santa Cruz. Visitors are advised to coordinate with authorities in Río Gallegos and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena for permits and guidance to protect the site's scientific and cultural values.
Category:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Argentina Category:Geology of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina