Tierra del Fuego
Encyclopedia
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago
off the southernmost tip of the South America
n mainland, across the Strait of Magellan
. The archipelago
consists of a main island
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
divided between Chile
and Argentina
with an area of 48100 km² (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn
. Initially discovered by Ferdinand Magellan
's expedition in 1520, the islands were not settled by people of European descent until the second half of the 19th century at the height of the sheep farming and gold rush booms. Today's economic activity in the northern part of Tierra del Fuego is dominated by petroleum extraction while in the south tourism, manufacturing and Antarctic logistics are important. The numbers of the native Selk'nam and Yaghan
s were greatly reduced by introduced diseases and by unequal conflicts with settlers. Today the Selk'nam are practically extinct
as a distinct people, with all of their very few descendants being mestizo
s and their language extinct. Some of the few remaining Yaghans have settled in Villa Ukika in Navarino Island, others have scattered across Chile and Argentina. Tierra del Fuego hosts large areas protected as national parks and reserves, most of them in the mountainous south.
. The Yaghan
people were some of the earliest known humans settling in Tierra del Fuego, with certain recognizable archeological sites at locations such as Navarino Island within the islands of Tierra del Fuego.
The name Tierra del Fuego derives from the Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan
sailing for the Spanish Crown, who was the first European to visit these lands in 1520. He believed he was seeing the many fires (fuego in Spanish) of the Yaghan
, which were visible from the sea and that the "Indians" were waiting in the forests to ambush his armada
. Originally called the "Land of Smoke", it was later changed to "Land of Fire".
The very existence of Tierra del Fuego as one or more islands and not as part of Terra Australis
was first inferred by Francisco de Hoces
in 1525, then by Francis Drake
in 1578 and in 1616 by a Dutch VOC
expedition who named Cape Horn
.
Four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button
" (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert FitzRoy
on his first voyage with the HMS Beagle
in 1830. The surviving three were taken to meet the King and Queen in London
and were to an extent celebrities. They returned to Tierra del Fuego in the Beagle with FitzRoy and Charles Darwin
, who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.
.
An 1879 Chilean expedition led by Ramón Serrano Montaner reported large amounts of placer
gold in the streams and river beds of Tierra del Fuego. This prompted a massive immigration to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
from 1883 and 1909. Numerous Argentinians, Chileans and Croatians settled in the main island leading to increased conflicts with native Selknam
. Julius Popper
, Romanian explorer, was one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Popper, who was granted rights by the Argentine government to exploit any gold deposits he found in Tierra del Fuego, has been pointed as a central figure in what is called the Selknam Genocide
. The Selknam and Yaghan populations of Tierra del Fuego declined sharply due to persecution by settlers, diseases and mass transfer to the Salesian mission of Dawson Island
, where despite the missionaries' efforts many perished.
According to the Boundary treaty of 1881 Tierra del Fuego was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously it was claimed by both countries in its entirety.
The gold rushes of the late 19th century led to the founding of numerous small settlements by immigrants, as such as Argentine Ushuaia
in was founded in 1884 and Río Grande
in 1921, and the Chilean settlements Puerto Toro
and Porvenir
in 1892 and 1899 respectively.
During the 1940s Chile and Argentina formulated their Antarctic claims, and governments realized the key role of Tierra del Fuego's geographical proximity in backing their claims as well as to supply their Antarctic bases. In the 1950s Chilean military founded Puerto Williams
to counter Ushuaia's monopoly as the only settlement in Beagle Channel
, a zone where Argentina disputed the 1881 borders.
In the 1960s and 1970s sovereignty claims by Argentina over Picton, Lennox and Nueva
Islands in Tierra del Fuego led the two countries to the brink of war in December 1978. Mine fields were deployed in some areas of Tierra del Fuego and bunkers built in the Chilean side as consequence of the threat of an Argentine invasion
. The threat of war by Argentina caused the Chilean Pinochet regime
to give logistical support and information to the British during the Falklands War
of 1982. Chilean radars supplied the British with information of Argentine movements in Tierra del Fuego, from where the Argentine Air Force launched raids on targets in the Falklands.
In 1986 the Argentine congress decided to make the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego into a new province. The law was not promulgated until 26 April 1990.
The archipelago
consists of a main island
(Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
, often simply called Tierra del Fuego or Isla Grande) with an area of 48100 km² (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands. The main island is split between two countries: 18507.3 km² (7,146 sq mi) (38.57% of total) belongs to Argentina
, while 29484.7 km² (11,384 sq mi) (61.43% of total) belongs to Chile
.
Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas
, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chile
an towns are Porvenir, capital of the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego
, on the main island, and Puerto Williams
, on Navarino Island
, being the capital of the Antártica Chilena Province
. Puerto Toro
lies a few kilometers south of Puerto Williams and is arguably the southernmost village
in the world.
The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, being part of the Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic Territory and South Atlantic Islands Province
; its capital is Ushuaia
, the biggest city of the archipelago. The other important city in the region is Río Grande
on the Atlantic coast.
The Darwin Range
ends in the Mount Bove; this range contains many glaciers that reach the ocean. Mount Darwin
is the highest peak at 2,488 metres (8,163 ft).
glaciations. The geology of the island can be divided into large east-west oriented units. The southwestern islands of the archipelago, including Cape Horn
, are part of the Patagonian Batholith
, while Cordillera Darwin
and the area around Beagle Channel
forms the principal codillera hosting the highest mountains. The Magallanes fold and thrust belt extends north of Almirantazgo Fjord
and Fagnano Lake
, and north of this lies the Magallanes foreland; an old sedimentary basin
that hosts hydrocarbon reserves. Orthogneiss dated at 525 million years of age is known to underlie some of the oil wells in northern Tierra del Fuego.
The Magallanes-Fagnano Fault
, a dextral strike slip
fault crosses the southern part of the main island from west to east. It is an active seismic fault, located in inside and parallel to the Fuegian fold and thrust belt marks the boundary between a southern belt of Paleozoic
meta
sediments
and northern Mesozoic
belts sedimentary sequences. The Fagnano Lake occupies an glacier-carved depression in a pull-apart basin developed along the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault zone.
This region has an oceanic climate
(Köppen climate classification
Cfc) with short, cool summers and long, wet, moderately mild winters: the precipitation averages 3000 mm (118 in) a year in the far west, but precipitation decreases rapidly to the eastern side. Temperatures are steady throughout the year: in Ushuaia they hardly surpass 9 °C (48.2 °F) in summers and average 0 °C (32 °F) in winters. Snowfall can occur in summer. The cold and wet summers help preserve the ancient glacier
s. The southernmost islands possess a sub antarctic climate typical of tundra that makes the growth of trees impossible. Some areas in the interior have a polar climate. Regions in the world with similar climates to southern Tierra del Fuego are: Aleutian islands, Iceland
, Alaska Peninsula
, Faroe Islands
, Macquarie Island
and Heard and McDonald Islands.
; the northeast is made up by steppe and cool semi desert.
There are six species of tree found in Tierra del Fuego: Canelo or Winter's Bark (Drimys winteri
), Maytenus magellanica
, Pilgerodendron uviferum the southernmost conifer in the world , and three kinds of Southern Beech
; Nothofagus antarctica
, Nothofagus pumilio and the evergreen Nothofagus betuloides
. Fruits grow in open spaces in these forests, such as beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis var. chiloensis forma chiloensis) and calafate (Berberis buxifolia), which were and are collected respectively by Indians and countrymen. These forests are unique in the world for having developed in a climate with such cold summers. Tree cover extends very close to the southernmost tip of South America. Winds are so strong that trees in wind-exposed areas grow twisted by the force of winds, and people call the trees "flag-trees" for the shape that they need to take in the fight with the wind. Tree vegetation extends as far south as the Isla de los Estados
, Navarino Island and the north of Hoste Island
. At altitudes above 500 m (1,640 ft), dwarf nothofagus communities are found. Going further south, Wollaston Islands
and the south of Hoste Island are covered by sub antarctic tundra
.
Forests from Tierra del Fuego have expanded beyond local importance; they have been a source of trees that have been planted abroad in places with practically the same climate but which were originally devoid of trees like Faroe Islands and nearby archipelagos. Most species were gathered from the coldest places in Tierra del Fuego, sites mainly with tundra borders. This effort resulted in positive changes, as the heavy winds and cool summers in the Faroe Islands did not allow the growth of trees from other regions in the world. The imported trees are used ornamentally, as curtains against wind, and for fighting erosion caused by storms and grazing in the Faroe Islands.
Among the most notable animals in the archipelago that are found: Austral Parakeet
s, gull
s, guanacos, fox
es, kingfisher
s, condor
s, owl
s, and firecrown hummingbirds
. North American beaver
, introduced in the 1940s, have proliferated and caused considerable damage to the island's forests.
Like mainland Chile and Argentina to the north, the archipelago boasts some of the finest trout fishing in the world. Sea Run Brown Trout often exceed 9 kg (20 lb), particularly in rivers such as the Rio Grande and San Pablo and in the Lago Fagnano. Much of this water is private, catch and release
and fly fishing
only.
and oil
extraction, sheep
farming
and ecotourism
. Tourism is gaining importance and becoming an ever more important part of the region’s economy attracting increasing numbers of upmarket visitors. Much of the tourism is based on claims of "southernmost" things, for example both Ushuaia
and Puerto Williams
claim to be the southernmost city in the world. On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego the government has promoted the establishment of several electronic companies.
Energy production is a crucial economic activity. On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego during the 2005 to 2010 period, petroleum and natural gas extraction contributed to 20% of the region’s economic output.
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
off the southernmost tip of the South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n mainland, across the Strait of Magellan
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
. The archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
consists of a main island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan...
divided between Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
with an area of 48100 km² (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands including Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
. Initially discovered by Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
's expedition in 1520, the islands were not settled by people of European descent until the second half of the 19th century at the height of the sheep farming and gold rush booms. Today's economic activity in the northern part of Tierra del Fuego is dominated by petroleum extraction while in the south tourism, manufacturing and Antarctic logistics are important. The numbers of the native Selk'nam and Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
s were greatly reduced by introduced diseases and by unequal conflicts with settlers. Today the Selk'nam are practically extinct
Selknam Genocide
Selk'nam Genocide is the genocide against the Selk'nam people from the second half of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century.The Selknam, also known as the Ona, were an Amerindian people who inhabited the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego until the death of the last descendant, Angela Loij, in...
as a distinct people, with all of their very few descendants being mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s and their language extinct. Some of the few remaining Yaghans have settled in Villa Ukika in Navarino Island, others have scattered across Chile and Argentina. Tierra del Fuego hosts large areas protected as national parks and reserves, most of them in the mountainous south.
History
Prehistory and European exploration
The earliest human settlement occurred more than 10,000 years Before PresentBefore Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
. The Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
people were some of the earliest known humans settling in Tierra del Fuego, with certain recognizable archeological sites at locations such as Navarino Island within the islands of Tierra del Fuego.
The name Tierra del Fuego derives from the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorer Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
sailing for the Spanish Crown, who was the first European to visit these lands in 1520. He believed he was seeing the many fires (fuego in Spanish) of the Yaghan
Yaghan
The Yaghan, also called Yagán, Yahgan , Yámana or Yamana, are the indigenous inhabitants of the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego extending their presence into Cape Horn...
, which were visible from the sea and that the "Indians" were waiting in the forests to ambush his armada
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
. Originally called the "Land of Smoke", it was later changed to "Land of Fire".
The very existence of Tierra del Fuego as one or more islands and not as part of Terra Australis
Terra Australis
Terra Australis, Terra Australis Ignota or Terra Australis Incognita was a hypothesized continent appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th century...
was first inferred by Francisco de Hoces
Francisco de Hoces
Francisco de Hoces was a Spanish sailor who in 1525 joined the Loaísa Expedition to the Spice Islands as commander of the vessel San Lesmes....
in 1525, then by Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
in 1578 and in 1616 by a Dutch VOC
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
expedition who named Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
Four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button
Jemmy Button
Orundellico, known as "Jeremy Button" or "Jemmy Button", was a native Fuegian of the Yaghan people from islands around Tierra del Fuego, in modern Chile and Argentina...
" (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
on his first voyage with the HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
in 1830. The surviving three were taken to meet the King and Queen in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and were to an extent celebrities. They returned to Tierra del Fuego in the Beagle with FitzRoy and Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.
Colonization and extinction of Indians (1860–1910)
During the second half of the 19th century the archipelago began to come under Chilean and Argentine influence. Both countries sought actively to claim the whole archipelago based on de jure Spanish colonial titles. Salesian missions were established in Río Grande and Dawson IslandDawson Island
Dawson Island is an island in the Strait of Magellan that forms part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, 100 km south of the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and part of the Municipality of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of Brunswick Peninsula and is an approximately 1290 km² tract...
.
An 1879 Chilean expedition led by Ramón Serrano Montaner reported large amounts of placer
Placer deposit
In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word placer, meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mining is an important source of gold, and was the main technique used in the early...
gold in the streams and river beds of Tierra del Fuego. This prompted a massive immigration to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan...
from 1883 and 1909. Numerous Argentinians, Chileans and Croatians settled in the main island leading to increased conflicts with native Selknam
Selknam
The Selk'nam, also known as the Onawo, lived in the Patagonian region of southern Chile and Argentina including the Tierra del Fuego islands...
. Julius Popper
Julius Popper
Julius Popper was an engineer, adventurer and explorer. He is responsible for the modern outline of the city of Havana, Cuba . As a "conquistador" of Tierra del Fuego in southern South America he was a controversial but influential figure.-Life:Popper was born in Bucharest, son of professor...
, Romanian explorer, was one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Popper, who was granted rights by the Argentine government to exploit any gold deposits he found in Tierra del Fuego, has been pointed as a central figure in what is called the Selknam Genocide
Selknam Genocide
Selk'nam Genocide is the genocide against the Selk'nam people from the second half of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century.The Selknam, also known as the Ona, were an Amerindian people who inhabited the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego until the death of the last descendant, Angela Loij, in...
. The Selknam and Yaghan populations of Tierra del Fuego declined sharply due to persecution by settlers, diseases and mass transfer to the Salesian mission of Dawson Island
Dawson Island
Dawson Island is an island in the Strait of Magellan that forms part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, 100 km south of the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and part of the Municipality of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of Brunswick Peninsula and is an approximately 1290 km² tract...
, where despite the missionaries' efforts many perished.
According to the Boundary treaty of 1881 Tierra del Fuego was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously it was claimed by both countries in its entirety.
The gold rushes of the late 19th century led to the founding of numerous small settlements by immigrants, as such as Argentine Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
in was founded in 1884 and Río Grande
Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego
-External links:* * * *...
in 1921, and the Chilean settlements Puerto Toro
Puerto Toro
Puerto Toro, founded 1892 by Governor of Punta Arenas Señoret is a hamlet on the eastern coast of Navarino Island, Chile.It belongs to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region...
and Porvenir
Porvenir
Founded in 1883 by immigrants from Croatia and Chiloé during a minor nineteenth century gold rush, Porvenir is the capital of both the homonymous commune and the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego of the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region...
in 1892 and 1899 respectively.
Contemporary history (1940–1990)
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region...
to counter Ushuaia's monopoly as the only settlement in Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
thumb|right|300px|Aereal view of Beagle Channel. The Chilean [[Navarino Island]] is seen in the top-right while the Argentine part of [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]] is seen at the bottom-left....
, a zone where Argentina disputed the 1881 borders.
In the 1960s and 1970s sovereignty claims by Argentina over Picton, Lennox and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva
Picton, Lennox and Nueva is a group of three islands on the extreme south of South America, in the Chilean commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region...
Islands in Tierra del Fuego led the two countries to the brink of war in December 1978. Mine fields were deployed in some areas of Tierra del Fuego and bunkers built in the Chilean side as consequence of the threat of an Argentine invasion
Operation Soberanía
Operación Soberanía was the codename of a planned Argentine military invasion of Chile to be carried out on 22 December 1978 due to the Beagle conflict dispute. The invasion was halted at the last minute and did not take place....
. The threat of war by Argentina caused the Chilean Pinochet regime
Chile under Pinochet
Chile was ruled by a military dictatorship headed by Augusto Pinochet from 1973 when Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup d'etat until 1990 when the Chilean transition to democracy began. The authoritarian military government was characterized by systematic suppression of political parties and...
to give logistical support and information to the British during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
of 1982. Chilean radars supplied the British with information of Argentine movements in Tierra del Fuego, from where the Argentine Air Force launched raids on targets in the Falklands.
In 1986 the Argentine congress decided to make the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego into a new province. The law was not promulgated until 26 April 1990.
Geography
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
consists of a main island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
(Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan...
, often simply called Tierra del Fuego or Isla Grande) with an area of 48100 km² (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands. The main island is split between two countries: 18507.3 km² (7,146 sq mi) (38.57% of total) belongs to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, while 29484.7 km² (11,384 sq mi) (61.43% of total) belongs to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas, Chile
Punta Arenas is a commune and the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. The city was officially renamed Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to Punta Arenas...
, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an towns are Porvenir, capital of the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile
Tierra del Fuego Province is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena . It includes the Chilean part of the main island of Tierra del Fuego. There is also an Argentine province of the same name, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina...
, on the main island, and Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region...
, on Navarino Island
Isla Navarino
Isla Navarino is a Chilean island located strategically between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belonging to Antártica Chilena Province in the XII...
, being the capital of the Antártica Chilena Province
Antártica Chilena Province
Antártica Chilena Province is the southernmost and one of four provinces in Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region . The capital is Puerto Williams...
. Puerto Toro
Puerto Toro
Puerto Toro, founded 1892 by Governor of Punta Arenas Señoret is a hamlet on the eastern coast of Navarino Island, Chile.It belongs to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region...
lies a few kilometers south of Puerto Williams and is arguably the southernmost village
Southernmost settlements
Southernmost settlements are cities, towns, weather stations or permanent military bases which are further south than latitude 45° S. They are closely related to the Southern Ocean or either the Roaring Forties or Furious Fifties.- Southernmost city :...
in the world.
The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, being part of the Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic Territory and South Atlantic Islands Province
Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina)
Tierra del Fuego is an Argentine province entirely separated from mainland Argentina by the Strait of Magellan. It includes:* The eastern part of the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the Staten Island.* Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands and to...
; its capital is Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
, the biggest city of the archipelago. The other important city in the region is Río Grande
Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego
-External links:* * * *...
on the Atlantic coast.
The Darwin Range
Cordillera Darwin
The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field. It is located in the southwestern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, entirely within the Chilean territory. It is part of the longest Andes range and includes the highest mountains in Tierra del Fuego, with...
ends in the Mount Bove; this range contains many glaciers that reach the ocean. Mount Darwin
Mount Darwin (Andes)
Mount Darwin, the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego at forms part of the Cordillera of the Andes, South America, just to the north of the Beagle Channel. It is formed of crystalline schists and has massive glaciers down its steep southern slopes....
is the highest peak at 2,488 metres (8,163 ft).
Geology
The geology of the archipelago is characterized by the effects of the Andean orogeny and the repeated PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
glaciations. The geology of the island can be divided into large east-west oriented units. The southwestern islands of the archipelago, including Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
, are part of the Patagonian Batholith
Patagonian batholith
The Patagonian batholith is a series of igneous plutons in the Patagonian Andes. The batholith extendes from Navarino Island at 55 °S to the Lonquimay area at 39 °N. It is made of granite, granodiorite and tonalite...
, while Cordillera Darwin
Cordillera Darwin
The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field. It is located in the southwestern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, entirely within the Chilean territory. It is part of the longest Andes range and includes the highest mountains in Tierra del Fuego, with...
and the area around Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
thumb|right|300px|Aereal view of Beagle Channel. The Chilean [[Navarino Island]] is seen in the top-right while the Argentine part of [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]] is seen at the bottom-left....
forms the principal codillera hosting the highest mountains. The Magallanes fold and thrust belt extends north of Almirantazgo Fjord
Almirantazgo Fjord
Almirantazgo Fjord, also known as Almirantazgo Sound , is a Chilean fjord cutting deeply into the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. The fjord is a southeastern projection of Canal Whiteside, which separates the just mentioned island from Dawson Island...
and Fagnano Lake
Fagnano Lake
Cami Lake is a lake located on the main island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, and shared by Argentina and Chile....
, and north of this lies the Magallanes foreland; an old sedimentary basin
Sedimentary basin
The term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification...
that hosts hydrocarbon reserves. Orthogneiss dated at 525 million years of age is known to underlie some of the oil wells in northern Tierra del Fuego.
The Magallanes-Fagnano Fault
Magallanes-Fagnano Fault
The Magallanes-Fagnano fault is a continental transform fault.The fault marks a transform boundary between the Scotia Plate and the South American Plate, cutting across continental crust. It runs under the Strait of Magellan's western arm, Almirantazgo Sound and Fagnano Lake....
, a dextral strike slip
Strike-slip tectonics
Strike-slip tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the tectonic processes associated with, zones of lateral displacement within the crust or lithosphere.-Deformation styles:-Riedel shear structures:...
fault crosses the southern part of the main island from west to east. It is an active seismic fault, located in inside and parallel to the Fuegian fold and thrust belt marks the boundary between a southern belt of Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
meta
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
sediments
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
and northern Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
belts sedimentary sequences. The Fagnano Lake occupies an glacier-carved depression in a pull-apart basin developed along the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault zone.
Climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfc) with short, cool summers and long, wet, moderately mild winters: the precipitation averages 3000 mm (118 in) a year in the far west, but precipitation decreases rapidly to the eastern side. Temperatures are steady throughout the year: in Ushuaia they hardly surpass 9 °C (48.2 °F) in summers and average 0 °C (32 °F) in winters. Snowfall can occur in summer. The cold and wet summers help preserve the ancient glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s. The southernmost islands possess a sub antarctic climate typical of tundra that makes the growth of trees impossible. Some areas in the interior have a polar climate. Regions in the world with similar climates to southern Tierra del Fuego are: Aleutian islands, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Alaska Peninsula
Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean from Bristol Bay, an arm of the Bering Sea....
, Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica, at 54°30S, 158°57E. Politically, it has formed part of the Australian state of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978. In 1997 it became a world heritage...
and Heard and McDonald Islands.
Flora
Only 30% of the islands have forests, which are classified as Magellanic sub polarMagellanic subpolar forests
The Magellanic subpolar forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of southernmost South America, covering parts of southern Chile and Argentina, and is part of the Neotropic ecozone...
; the northeast is made up by steppe and cool semi desert.
There are six species of tree found in Tierra del Fuego: Canelo or Winter's Bark (Drimys winteri
Drimys winteri
Drimys winteri , or Canelo, is a slender tree, growing up to 20 m tall. It is native to the Magellanic and Valdivian temperate rain forests of Chile and Argentina, where it is a dominant tree in the coastal evergreen forests. It is found below 1200 meters between latitude 32° south and Cape...
), Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica, is a small evergreen tree from the genus Maytenus, up to 5 meters , in the Celastraceae...
, Pilgerodendron uviferum the southernmost conifer in the world , and three kinds of Southern Beech
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
; Nothofagus antarctica
Nothofagus antarctica
Nothofagus antarctica , is a deciduous tree or shrub native to southern Chile and Argentina from about 36°S to Tierra del Fuego . The southernmost occurrence is on Hoste Island, making it the southernmost trees on earth...
, Nothofagus pumilio and the evergreen Nothofagus betuloides
Nothofagus betuloides
Nothofagus betuloides, the Magellan's beech and is sometimes known by the common name guindo, is native to southern Patagonia.In 1769 Sir Joseph Banks collected a specimen of the tree in Tierra del Fuego during Captain Cook's first voyage....
. Fruits grow in open spaces in these forests, such as beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis var. chiloensis forma chiloensis) and calafate (Berberis buxifolia), which were and are collected respectively by Indians and countrymen. These forests are unique in the world for having developed in a climate with such cold summers. Tree cover extends very close to the southernmost tip of South America. Winds are so strong that trees in wind-exposed areas grow twisted by the force of winds, and people call the trees "flag-trees" for the shape that they need to take in the fight with the wind. Tree vegetation extends as far south as the Isla de los Estados
Isla de los Estados
Isla de los Estados is an Argentine island that lies off the eastern extremity of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego, from which it is separated by the Le Maire Strait...
, Navarino Island and the north of Hoste Island
Hoste (island)
Hoste is one of the southernmost islands in Chile, lying south, across the Beagle Channel, from Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and west of Navarino Island, from which it is separated by the Murray Channel. With an area of , Hoste is the second largest island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago,...
. At altitudes above 500 m (1,640 ft), dwarf nothofagus communities are found. Going further south, Wollaston Islands
Wollaston Islands
Wollaston Islands is a group of islands in the extreme south of Chile near Cape Horn. The islands are inside Cabo de Hornos National Park, belonging to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region....
and the south of Hoste Island are covered by sub antarctic tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
.
Forests from Tierra del Fuego have expanded beyond local importance; they have been a source of trees that have been planted abroad in places with practically the same climate but which were originally devoid of trees like Faroe Islands and nearby archipelagos. Most species were gathered from the coldest places in Tierra del Fuego, sites mainly with tundra borders. This effort resulted in positive changes, as the heavy winds and cool summers in the Faroe Islands did not allow the growth of trees from other regions in the world. The imported trees are used ornamentally, as curtains against wind, and for fighting erosion caused by storms and grazing in the Faroe Islands.
Fauna
Austral Parakeet
The Austral Parakeet, Austral Conure or Emerald Parakeet, Enicognathus ferrugineus, is a parrot found on the southern tip of South America - further south than any other parrot - ranging as far north as Temuco. It is a fairly large conure, 35cm...
s, gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s, guanacos, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s, condor
Condor
Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
s, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, and firecrown hummingbirds
Green-backed Firecrown
The Green-backed Firecrown is a hummingbird that is found in Argentina and Chile. It can be fairly common in some locations, especially the Robinson Crusoe Island, 350 miles off the Chilean coast. It is found as far south as Tierra del Fuego.Like its cousin the Juan Fernández Firecrown, the...
. North American beaver
American Beaver
The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...
, introduced in the 1940s, have proliferated and caused considerable damage to the island's forests.
Like mainland Chile and Argentina to the north, the archipelago boasts some of the finest trout fishing in the world. Sea Run Brown Trout often exceed 9 kg (20 lb), particularly in rivers such as the Rio Grande and San Pablo and in the Lago Fagnano. Much of this water is private, catch and release
Catch and release
Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing intended as a technique of conservation. After capture, the fish are unhooked and returned to the water before experiencing serious exhaustion or injury...
and fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
only.
Economy
Wood lodging was the economic driving force behind the colonization of this remote area. Today the main economic activities are fishing, natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
extraction, sheep
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
farming
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
. Tourism is gaining importance and becoming an ever more important part of the region’s economy attracting increasing numbers of upmarket visitors. Much of the tourism is based on claims of "southernmost" things, for example both Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
and Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams is a Chilean port, located on Isla Navarino facing the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region...
claim to be the southernmost city in the world. On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego the government has promoted the establishment of several electronic companies.
Energy production is a crucial economic activity. On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego during the 2005 to 2010 period, petroleum and natural gas extraction contributed to 20% of the region’s economic output.
See also
- Alberto de Agostini National ParkAlberto de Agostini National ParkAlberto de Agostini National Park is a park located in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. It covers and includes the Cordillera Darwin mountain range. The park is named after Alberto Maria De Agostini, who was an Italian missionary and explorer. Several tidewater glaciers and steep fjords form...
- Beagle conflictBeagle conflictThe Beagle Conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war in 1978....
- The Voyage of the BeagleThe Voyage of the BeagleThe Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, bringing him considerable fame and respect...
- Tierra del Fuego National ParkTierra del Fuego National ParkTierra del Fuego National Park is a national park on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego, within Tierra del Fuego Province in the ecoregion of Patagonic Forest and Altos Andes, a part of the subantarctic forest...
- Yaghan languageYaghan languageYagán , also known as Yámana and Háusi Kúta, is one of the indigenous languages of Tierra del Fuego, spoken by the Yagán people...
(only one speaker left)- MamihlapinatapaiMamihlapinatapaiMamihlapinatapai is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate...
- Mamihlapinatapai
- Selknam GenocideSelknam GenocideSelk'nam Genocide is the genocide against the Selk'nam people from the second half of the nineteenth to the early twentieth century.The Selknam, also known as the Ona, were an Amerindian people who inhabited the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego until the death of the last descendant, Angela Loij, in...
- Beaver eradication in Tierra del FuegoBeaver eradication in Tierra del FuegoThe Chilean and Argentinian governments have a plan of eradicating the North American beavers in the Tierra del Fuego area, which is the southernmost tip of South America. The non-native species was introduced in 1946 as a potential source of commercial fur trading, and they became a difficult...