It is the capital city of Santa Cruz province, 2,700 km (1688 miles) and about 3 hours away from Buenos Aires (by direct flight). Located on the banks of the river of the same name by the Atlantic Ocean, it concentrates all the commercial and administrative activities of the southern region of Patagonia, carried out around the deep-water port from where wool and coal production is exported. The international airport links the city with the rest of the country. In the outskirts, stands Isla de los Pingüinos (Penguins' Island), in Cabo del Buen Tiempo, that can be reached on foot during low tide.

62 km (39 miles) southward from Río Gallegos is situated the geological reserve of Laguna Azul (Blue Lagoon), formed at the bottom of an inactive volcanic crater, surrounded by the moon-like landscape of lava and stones characteristic of Cadena del Diablo (Devil's Range - Mount Aymond). The lagoon depth is estimated in some 1,000 m (3,330 ft.).

Further on, 134 km (84 miles) south from Río Gallegos, is located Cabo Vírgenes where stands the beautiful and lonely 26-meter (87 feet) tall lighthouse, built at the beginning of the XX century, that indicates the end of Continental Argentina, 2,700 km (1,688 miles) away from Buenos Aires. There is in the area a reserve of Magellan Penguins that houses 80,000 couples of these birds which nest here from October to March. Near the cliff can be seen the meager remains of Ciudad del Nombre de Jesús (Christ's name city) founded by one of the first pioneering Spanish explorers that reached the region in 1584. Southward, it is possible to see the Strait of Magellan, witness of the innumerable attempts made by explorers that in the XVI and XVII centuries sailed these waters in search for the passage that linked Europe with the Eastern realms. The strait separates the continent from the island of Tierra del Fuego.

Río Gallegos was formerly the entrance to the glacier region because the closest airport was situated in this city, though there is now a modern International airport in El Calafate, now the real gateway to the glaciers. Anyway, if you wish to catch the true spirit of the Patagonian steppe you may travel at least one way the 320 km (200 miles) northwestward to El Calafate along the never ending Patagonian roads through the vast plateau with the only company of the sky, the poor arid vegetation and the horizon. 150 km from Río Gallegos the tiny town of La Esperanza, is the only place to refresh for a while. There is a gas station, a police station, a first-aid ward and a coffee-shop.