View source for Pinturas River Canyon

{{Infobox valley
|name = Pinturas River Canyon
|width = {{convert|480|m|ft}}
|location = [[Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)|Santa Cruz]], [[Argentina]]
|photo = SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210079b.jpg
|photo_caption = Pinturas River Canyon and the [[Pinturas River]].
|photo_size = 200
|watercourses=[[Pinturas River]]
}}
The '''Pinturas River Canyon''' ({{Langx|es|'''Cañadón Río Pinturas'''}}) is a [[canyon]] located 160&nbsp;km from the town of [[Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz|Perito Moreno]] in [[Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)|Santa Cruz]], [[Argentina]]. It is home to the [[Pinturas River]], which carved the canyon through eroding the [[Chon Aike Formation]]. Native populations inhabited the region, painting many works of [[rock art]], some of which can still be seen today. The most famous of these rock art sites is the [[Cueva de las Manos]], a cave site with ancient art whose creation dates back up to 13,000 years ago. This rock art, and Cueva de las Manos in particular, brings lots of tourism to the canyon. 

== Geology ==
[[File:Marianoc IMG 8580 1 copy.jpg|thumb|Wall of the canyon and [[Cueva de las Manos]].]]
The canyon is made of [[ignimbrite]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aschero|first=Carlos A.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/975369942|title=Archaeologies of rock art: South American Perspectives|date=2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781138292673|editor-last=Troncoso|editor-first=Andrés|location=London|chapter=Hunting scenes in Cueva de las Manos: Styles, content and chronology (Río Pinturas, Santa Cruz – Argentinian Patagonia)|doi=10.4324/9781315232782-9|oclc=975369942|editor-last2=Armstrong|editor-first2=Felipe|editor-last3=Nash|editor-first3=George|page=209|s2cid=189442969}}</ref> among other volcanic rocks formed during the [[Jurassic]] period.<ref name=":33">{{Cite journal|last=Geuna|first=Silvana Evangelina|last2=Escosteguy|first2=Leonardo Darío|date=April 2008|title=El Valle del Río Pinturas. La Cueva de las Manos|url=|journal=Anales - Dirección Nacional del Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino|language=es|volume=2|issue=46|pages=771–780|issn=0328-2325|hdl-access=free|hdl=11336/76841}}</ref> It was created through the erosion caused by the [[Pinturas River]], which cut into the [[Chon Aike Formation]] to form the canyon.<ref name=":33" />

The Pinturas River runs through the canyon at a height of 240 [[Height above sea level|meters above sea level]].<ref name=":0" /> The canyon is 270 meters deep and 480 meters wide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Wallace|first=Chris|title=Footprint Argentina|date=February 2017|publisher=[[Footprint Travel Guides|Footprint]]|isbn=9781911082095|editor-last=Williams|editor-first=Jo|edition=8th|pages=524}}</ref> The walls of the canyon are nearly vertical,<ref name=":33" /> and are formed of low reliefs as well as slopes that are made up of landfall debris and sand.<ref name=":1">{{Harvp|Aschero|Schneier|2021|page=311}}</ref>

== Climate ==
During the time of the [[Paleo-Indians]], around the late [[Pleistocene]] to early [[Holocene]] [[geological period]]s, the areas between 400 and 500 meters above sea level formed a [[microclimate]] in which the canyon was home to [[Grassland|grasslands]] hospitable to the animals that lived in it.<ref name=":1" /> This microclimate included the ''[[schinus molle]]'' plant, which was useful to native inhabitants for its ability to form resins and adhesives, as well as its use as a source of firewood.<ref name=":1" /> The climate was also home to edible vegetables and plants that could be used for medicine; [[Tuber|tubers]], such as the rush root; and numerous fruits, such as that of the ''[[berberis]]'' plant.<ref name=":1" /> 

The current climate of the area of the canyon around [[Cueva de las Manos]] is cold and dry,<ref name=":27">{{cite journal|last1=Srur|first1=Ana M.|last2=Villalba|first2=Ricardo|last3=Baldi|first3=Germán|date=2011|title=Variations in Anarthrophyllum rigidum radial growth, NDVI and ecosystem productivity in the Patagonian shrubby steppes|journal=Plant Ecology|volume=212|issue=11|pages=1841–1854|doi=10.1007/s11258-011-9955-6|jstor=41508649|s2cid=1008572}}</ref> with very low humidity;<ref name=":24">{{Cite web|last=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|title=Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414171517/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/936|archive-date=2021-04-14|access-date=2021-04-07|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en}}</ref> the area receives a total annual precipitation of less than {{convert|20|mm|in|sp=us}} per year.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last1=Wainwright|first1=Ian N.M.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320457716|title=Rock paintings conservation and pigment analysis at Cueva de las Manos and Cerro de los Indios, Santa Cruz (Patagonia), Argentina|last2=Helwig|first2=Kate|last3=Rolandi|first3=Diana S.|last4=Gradin|first4=Carlos|last5=Mercedes Podestá|first5=M.|last6=Onetto|first6=María|last7=Aschero|first7=Carlos A.|work=13th Triennial Meeting Rio de Janeiro Preprints|publisher=ICOM Preprints|year=2002|volume=2|pages=583 & 585|oclc=938407252|author-link4=Carlos J. Gradin|access-date=2021-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029010941/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320457716_Rock_paintings_conservation_and_pigment_analysis_at_Cueva_de_las_Manos_and_Cerro_de_los_Indios_Santa_Cruz_Patagonia_Argentina|archive-date=2021-10-29|url-status=live}}</ref>  The topography of the canyon prevents the strong westward winds that are natural to the region, making winters in the canyon less severe.<ref>{{Cite conference|date=24 May 2003|title=World Heritage Papers 13|url=http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_wh_papers_13_en.pdf|conference=Linking Universal and Local Values: Managing a Sustainable Future for World Heritage|page=159|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014130150/http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_wh_papers_13_en.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2020|access-date=22 April 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Native settlement ==
The Pinturas River running through the canyon provided water for herds of [[guanacos]], making the area attractive to Paleoindians.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal|last1=Isla|first1=Federico Ignacio|last2=Espinosa|first2=Marcela|last3=Iantanos|first3=Nerina|date=1 March 2015|title=Evolution of the Eastern flank of the North Patagonian Ice Field: The deactivation of the Deseado River (Argentina) and the activation of the Baker River (Chile)|journal=Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie|volume=59|issue=1|pages=119–131|bibcode=2015ZGm....59..119I|doi=10.1127/0372-8854/2014/0149|hdl=11336/46418|hdl-access=free}} In {{Cite news|date=1 May 2015|title=New Findings from Department of Geology in Geomorphology Provides New Insights [Evolution of the Eastern flank of the North Patagonian Ice Field: The Deactivation of the Deseado River (Argentina) and the Activation of the Baker River (Chile)]|page=936|work=Science Letter|publisher=[[NewsRx|NewsRX LLC]]|location=Atlanta, GA|id={{Gale|A415804207}}}}</ref> In ancient times, people accessed the canyon through [[Ravine|ravines]] and [[Canyon|gorges]] in the East and West, typically from higher elevations around 600 to 700 meters above sea level.<ref name=":41">{{Harvp|Aschero|Schneier|2021|page=312}}.</ref> Natives hunted in the area of the canyon because of these plentiful guanaco, which they depended on for their own survival.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schobinger|first=Juan|title=The Ancient Americans: a reference guide to the art, culture, and history of pre-Columbian North and South America|date=2016-12-05|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-7656-8034-1|edition=1st|volume=1|pages=39–44, 57–61, 67 & 70|translator-last=Evans-Corrales|translator-first=Carys|doi=10.4324/978131570375|oclc=967392115}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|geology
}}
* [[List of canyons]]{{Coord missing|Argentina}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Aschero |first1=Carlos A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zbxDwAAQBAJ |title=Making Scenes: Global Perspectives on Scenes in Rock Art |last2=Schneier |first2=Patricia |date=2021-04-13 |publisher=[[Berghahn Books]] |isbn=978-1-78920-921-1 |editor-last=Davidson |editor-first=Iain |language=en |chapter=The Black Series in the Hunting Scenes of Cueva De Las Manos, Río Pinturas, Patagonia, Argentina |editor-last2=Nowell |editor-first2=April |access-date=2021-11-03 |archive-date=2021-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106015005/https://books.google.com/books?id=5zbxDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
{{Refend}}

[[Category:Landforms of Argentina]]
[[Category:Landforms of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina]]


{{SantaCruzAR-geo-stub}}
[[Category:Canyons and gorges of South America]]