North Patagonian Batholith North Patagonian Batholith The North Patagonian Batholith () is a series of igneous plutons in the Patagonian Andes of Argentina and Chile. The Northern Patagonian Batholith was formed in the Mesozoic Era and Cenozoic Era. It is made up of a collection of individual plutons made up of granodiorite, tonalite and diorite among other rocks. Most plutons of the North Patagonian Batholith are of Cretaceous Period to the Miocene age of the Neogene Period (135 Ma to 25-15 Ma), during the Mesozoic Era. Late Miocene to early Pliocene (10 to 5 Ma) leucogranites were also intruded. The Tertiary intrusions are
Patagonian Desert appeared at the edges of the desert. The most important was established at Chubut River's outflow by Welsh immigrants in 1860. Perito Moreno explored the desert in the 1870s. In the 1870s the Argentine army undertook the Conquest of the Desert campaign, massively defeating Mapuche warlords. The Conquest of the Desert was followed by a sharp decline in the indigenous population of the desert; some were chased into Chile and peripheral areas in the Andes. It is estimated that the Conquest of the Desert caused the death of about 1,000 Native Americans. Additionally 10,000 Native Americans were taken prisoner of