Gondwanan perspectives: The origins of patagonia, a challenging geological puzzle

Abstract

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF PATAGONIA has always attracted the attention of researchers and explorers and its deep geological and paleontological record has been the focus of intense researchin the last two centuries. The origin of Patagonia and its recognition as a continent that was once separated from South America has become one the most debated ideas and arguably the most intriguing conundrum in the history of South American geology. Different competing hypotheses,including the now classic controversy of the mobility versus fixists ideas, are still under debate despite the many geological studies performed during the last decades. The discussion is well rooted in the history of the discipline as the first proposal to consider Patagonia as an independent continentof Gondwana was written in 1924. However, many discrepancies still exist regarding its tempo and mode of movement and collision, and even whether this event happened at all. At present, several lines of research have been adding new information to the picture, including dates, geochemical data, and new assessments of floral and faunal remains from the Paleozoic of Patagonia. This increasing amount of evidence is welcome but difficult to put together and thus presents itself as a big challenging geological puzzle where each small piece of evidence may change the fate of the continent.