The land now known as
Patagonia lies between the
Andes and the
Atlantic Ocean in
South America, comprising primarily
Argentine territory but also a small slice of
Chile in the extreme south. A huge, sparsely populated region of rugged terrain and spectacular scenery, it is home to hundreds of rare and
endangered species. Before the arrival of
Ferdinand Magellan and his European cronies in 1520, Patagonia was known solely to a few, scattered tribes of those dark-skinned people we incorrectly dub
Indians.
The most notorious of these native inhabitants were the Tehuelche. Residing in the most desolate and weatherbeaten regions of southern Patagonia, their claim to fame was their prodigious height - supposedly averaging six feet, ten inches for an adult male. Long-haired and broad-shouldered as well, they must have awed the diminutive Spaniards, who called them "Patagones" after their oversized feet.
Tehuelche culture is now largely extinct, thanks to European immigrants as well as the more "civilized" Mapuche tribe that expanded from the northward territory. A few Tehuelche descendents still dwell in the more remote parts; though tall they don't approach the giant stature of their legendary ancestors, from whom the Earth's southernmost inhabitable region took the name "land of the Bigfoot."