Anegada Bay

Anegada Bay lies on the Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia, southwest of Buenos Aires Province. Its shallow waters, low islands and tidal channels mark the transition from the sandy Pampas coast to the more broken Patagonian shore. Salt marshes, beaches and shifting banks make navigation dependent on tide, wind and local knowledge.

The bay’s shores were used by Puelche and Tehuelche groups, who moved across the coastal grasslands and exploited fish, shellfish, game and seasonal plants. The sea offered routes along the coast, while fresh water and sheltered landings determined where camps could remain. The offshore islands also served as stopping places and landmarks.

Spanish navigator Basilio Villarino entered the bay in 1780 while surveying the Patagonian coast. Sailors killed a wild pecarí on the island later occupied by Bahía San Blas, leading them to call it Jabalí Island. Freshwater scarcity and exposure to Atlantic storms kept permanent settlement slight through the early nineteenth century. The bay’s principal importance lay in its position between the Pampas and Patagonia and in the narrow, shifting passages that made it useful only to sailors who understood the tides.