Sarmiento, Chubut

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Sarmiento is a town in Chubut Province, Argentina. It is the main town of Sarmiento Department and lies in Patagonia’s Central Corridor, in a fertile valley surrounded by a dry landscape. It is about 140 km west of Comodoro Rivadavia, between Lake Musters and Lake Colhue Huapi. The town has about 14,289 residents (2022 census).

Notable sights include the Petrified Forest and caves with ancient Aboriginal hand paintings.

Sarmiento began as a colony of immigrants, mainly Welsh. In the early 1900s, Lithuanians also arrived. In 1900, Oscar Lundqwist, a Swedish-born police officer, helped establish the first police station near Las Tres Casas. In 1903, about 600 Afrikaner families came here after the Boer War because the area had water. Their descendants still influence the town today, with some people speaking Afrikaans and attending the Dutch Reformed Church.

In 2016, a dinosaur fossil found near Sarmiento was named Sarmientosaurus musacchio, in honor of the town and paleontologist Dr. Eduardo Musacchio.

Climate wise, Sarmiento has a cold desert climate with warm summers and cool winters. It holds records for very low temperatures, including −32.8 °C (−27.0 °F) on June 1, 1907. The area receives little rain, about 183 mm per year.