Alpine Environment in the Andes.

Rio Negro is a Province in the middle of Argentina on the northern border of Patagonia. The main region is called Viedma.

Rio Negro has many different formations and climates. In the east and south, windy dry steppes are predominant, with Patogonian landscape, and vast, open spaces. The climate is more moderate in the valleys of the Rio Negro and the Rio Colorado in the north. The furthest southwest, the southern Andes, are humid-cold with abundant rainfall. The Rio Negro also touches on a small part of the Atlantic.

The province has very few inhabitants, and features though several medium sized local centres (San Carlos de Bariloche, Viedma, Cipolletti). More than half of the people here are Mestizes and a small number of Tehuelche- and Mapuche-Indians.

San Carlos de Bariloche on Lake Nahuel Huapi is one of the most popular tourist centres of Argentina (all year round). The Argentines call this very green, mountainous landscape the “Swiss of Argentina” and the chalets and wooden chapels enhance this impression. Further south is the Hippy Colony, El Bolsón. On the wild, rocky coastline there are beaches like Las Grutas, El Cóndor and Playas Doradas, as well as some natural reserves, where it is possible to see sealions.