Puerto Deseado | |
|---|---|
 Sights in Puerto Deseado | |
  Puerto Deseado Location of Puerto Deseado in Argentina  Puerto Deseado Puerto Deseado (Argentina) | |
| Coordinates: 47°45′S 65°55′W / 47.750°S 65.917°W | |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Province |  Santa Cruz |
| Department | Deseado |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Luis Ampuero (Justicialist Party) |
| Population (2010 census) | |
• Total | 14,183 |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |
| CPA base | Z9050 |
| Dialing code | +54 297 |
| Climate | BSk |
Puerto Deseado, originally called Port Desire, is a city of about 15,000 inhabitants and a fishing port in Patagonia in Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, on the estuary of the Deseado River.
It was named Port Desire by the privateer Thomas Cavendish in 1586 after the name of his ship, and later became known by the Spanish translation of the name. Today, the straggly town has a couple of pleasant squares, a former railway station and two museums, one with a collection of indigenous artifacts and one at the seafront with relics from the sloop of war HMS Swift which sank in 1770, recovered after its wreck was discovered in the port in 1982. The coast boasts spectacular scenery and colonies of marine wildlife close to the town.