Patagonian Steppe, Argentina

This scene is an original illustration set in Patagonian Steppe, Argentina. It lies in mid-latitudes, where the climate is cold semi-arid steppe.

A lone tree stands permanently bent into a one-sided flag shape, all its growth streaming away from the wind. A small group of guanacos stands alert in the middle distance. Coarse tussock and gravel run to the horizon, and long clouds stretch in parallel bands across a huge sky.

Why does this tree only grow branches on one side?

The tree is a wind gauge: buds on the windward side die before they open, so the crown can only develop downwind, and it has done so consistently enough to hold the shape year-round. Parallel cloud bands mean strong steady flow aloft in the same direction. This is a plain in the rain shadow of a mountain range, scoured by westerlies that have already dropped their moisture.

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