At Esperanza and other places in the Santa Clara province, bituminous plant-bearing beds occur beneath the Tertiary limestones, and at Baracoa a Radiolarian earth occupies a similar position.
The central part of this group of estuaries is called Worsley Sound, and the last and farthest inland of its arms is Last Hope Inlet (Ultima Esperanza), on which is situated the Chilean agricultural colony of Puerto Consuelo.
Special interest attaches to the recent discovery in the cavern of Ultima Esperanza, South Patagonia, of remains of the genus Glossotherium, or Grypotherium, a near relative of Mylodon, but differing from it in having a bony arch connecting the nasal bones of the skull with the premaxillae; these include a considerable portion of the skin with the hair attached.
The year closed with a frontier incident between Chile and Argentina in the disputed territory of Ultima Esperanza, where some Argentine colonists were ejected by Chilean police; but both governments signed protocols agreeing not to take aggressive action in consequence.
The Chilean settlement of Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope), over which there had been much controversy, remains under Chilean jurisdiction.