Population: 413.237 (2001)

Surface: 224,686 km2

Capital: Rawson

Main cities: Comodoro Rivadavia, Trelew, Puerto Madryn, Esquel and Rawson.

The province of Chubut is bounded by the provinces of Río Negro on the North, and Santa Cruz on the South.

It presents two types of relief: plateaus and mountains:

The region called Patagonian Plateau extends from the andes in the west, to the Argentine Sea in the east, conforming the Patagonides system . The relief ascends progressively, from the sea to the mountain range though the Patagonian plateaus, terraces or pampas. This is a barren region, almost totally deprived of vegetation.

The mountainous relief is located in the western part of the province and is the last section of the Andes mountain range. By the influence of humid winds of the Pacific, this zone has a very leafy vegetation composed by coniferous and hayas.

Plants:

In the Patagonian Plateau the steppe vegetation predominates: stocky shrubs not higher than a meter, along with grass that grows in low and compact bushes. In the Andes mountain range the dense coniferous forests and other perennial plants prevail. The dominant species are coihue, also are lahuán, ñire, and cypress. On the feet of these enormous trees dense cane scrubs, and small plants and flowers grow.

Animals

The native animals are the guanaco, choique or ñandú, mara or hare of the Patagonian, puma or American lion, gray fox, huemul, common eaglet, jotes and owls, woodpeckers. The fish that inhabit lakes, rivers and lagoons are the Patagonian pejerrey and Creole trouts. The animals, some of European origin introduced at the begining of the last century, are the red deer, wild boar, rabbit, rainbow trout, brown trout and salmon. The marine animals are: South American Sea Lions, elephant seals, leopard seals, dolphin, killer whale, austral frank whale, cormorants, gulls, Antarctica dove, albatross, penguins.

Three weather types:

Dry of steppe: it is the one of the Valdés peninsula. The annual average temperature is between 16 and 12 degrees Celsius. In January it is superior to the 20 degrees. The precipitations are little.

Patagonian Dry: The one of the Patagonian plateau. The annual average temperature oscillates between the 12 and 7.5 degrees Celsius. In January the average temperature can reach the 20, and in winter between 1 to 5 degrees. The rains diminish to the east.

Dry Humid: the one of the Andes mountain range. The climate is cold, with influence of the Pacific Ocean, which causes abundant snow and rain. The Chubut´s mountain range is the region with most rains of the country.

Economy:

Petroleum based industry and exploitation is the main economy activity of the province, with 13% of the Argentine oil production. Oil production in mainly concentrated around Comodoro Rivadavia City. Ovine cattle has distinguished in its importance while wool has been replaced every more often for synthetic materials, but is still an important activity. 21% of the national fishing is also done by Chubut.