Río Negro is a province in southern Argentina. The province is named after Río Negro (the "black river"). The province's namesake river is born at the junction of Río Limay (which carries the drainage of Lago Nahuel Huapi) and Río Neuquén and flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties ~30 km south of Viedma.
Population
~640,000
Capital
Viedma
Area
~203,000 km²
Lago Nahuel Huapi
Lago Nahuael Huapi is the Río Negro province's largest lake (530 km²) and located within Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. Despite being distant from the ocean across the Andes mountain range, Lago Nahuel Huapi is home to kelp gulls and imperial (blue eyed) cormorants, both seabirds. The lake is also allegedly home to Nahuelito, Patagonia's version of the Loch Ness monster. Nahuelito was claimed to have been first sighted in 1922 by Martin Sheffield, a North American gold prospector. Bicycle Patagonia has been unable to uncover photographic evidence of the creature's existence.
Cerro Tronador
Seriously a massive mountain at 3,470 meters, Cerro Tronador's peak is the highest point of both Río Negro and the neighboring Chilean region of Los Lagos. Tronador means "thunderer" in Spanish, a reference to the frequent sound of calving glaciers (the mountain is home to eight of them). Tronador is located on the Argentina-Chile border, spanning two national parks – Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi in Argentina and Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales in Chile.
Pan American Silver Mine
The world's second-largest primary silver producer, Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS), mines silver and gold in Río Negro as part of a project named Calcatreu. The mine is located ~60 km south of the town of Ingeniero Jacobacci, east of the Bicycle Patagonia route. Pan American Silver acquired the land in 2010. The following year, the Río Negro government repealed a law which had previously prohibited the use of cyanide in mineral processing. Cyanide, in the form of a sodium cyanide (NaCN) solution, is used by the mining industry to dissolve and separate gold and silver from ore. It also has deadly properties, and 1/20th of a teaspoon can be fatal.
Horse Flies
Locally known as tábanos, horse flies are large flying insects that will try to suck your blood. Although they primarily feed on nectar, the females bite animals for protein, acquired via animal and human blood. In fact, without a "bloody" meal, a female horse flies cannot reproduce. The flies are skilled pilots and can reach speeds of ~30 km/hour (read: probably faster than you can pedal). In case of a bite, the site should be washed and cold compression should be applied. Avoid the temptation to scratch at the wound.
Towns on the Bicycle Patagonia Tour
