Parque Nacional Monte Leon

Founded in October 2004 on 60,000 hectares of land donated by the Patagonia Land Trust, the Parque Nacional Monte Leon is the newest of Argentina's national parks and the only one on the continental coast. Home to a tremendous array of marine animals and birds, including a large colony of Magellanic penguins, the park attracts visitors in search of wildlife viewing, unmatched isolation, and desolate natural beauty. The main beach is gigantic and nearly always deserted. Like almost all of the Patagonian coast, the landscape is exceedingly bleak. A cavernous natural arch along the shore was briefly a symbol of the park, and still appears in promotional posters, but it collapsed in 2006, leaving the park more or less bereft of scenic symbols.