Sierra Baguales


Sierra Baguales or Sierra de los Baguales is a mountain range in the southernmost Andes. Sierra Baguales is a long east-west chain, secondary to the main chain of the Andes that lie further west. It lies along the border between Chile and Argentina near the localities of Puerto Natales and Río Turbio.

Geology

The mountain range contains a series of cirques formed by glaciers. Many cirques developed in the Pleistocene Epoch from isolated glaciers that existed separedly from ice sheets further west. The rocks of Sierra Baguales belong to various formations of Magallanes Basin. These rocks contain fossils of plants, mammals and marine invertebrates.

Stratigraphy

From top to bottom the following formations make up Sierra Baguales:
On the eastern slopes of Sierra Baguales various lithic artifacts have been found. Human occupation of eastern foothills begun no later than 4,500 years before present.