Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
Encyclopedia
Ushuaia is the capital city
of Tierra del Fuego Province
, Argentina
. It is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world
. Ushuaia is located in a wide bay
on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
, bounded on the north by the Martial mountain
range and on the south by the Beagle Channel
. It is the only municipality
in the Department of Ushuaia, which has an area of 9390 km² (3,625 sq mi).
The Selk’nam Indians, also called the Ona, first arrived in Tierra del Fuego about 10,000 years ago. The southern group of the Selk’nam, the Yaghan
(also known as Yámana), occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island.
The British ship HMS Beagle
under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy
first reached the channel on January 29, 1833 during its maiden voyage surveying Tierra del Fuego
. The city was originally named by early British
missionaries using the native Yámana
name for the area. Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland
is described in Lucas Bridges
’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). The name Ushuaia first appears in letters and reports of the South American Mission Society in England. The British missionary Waite Hockin Stirling
became the first European to live in Ushuaia when he stayed with the Yámana people between the 18th of January and mid-September 1869. In 1870 more British missionaries arrived to establish a small settlement. The following year the first marriage was performed. During 1872, 36 baptisms and 7 marriages and the first European birth (Thomas Despard Bridges) in Tierra del Fuego were registered. The first house constructed in Ushuaia was a pre-assembled 3 room home prepared in the Falkland Islands
in 1870 for Reverend Thomas Bridges. One room was for the Bridges family, a second was for a Yámana married couple, while the third served as the chapel.
During 1873 Juan and Clara Lawrence, the first Argentine citizens to visit Ushuaia, arrived to teach school. That same year the Argentine President Julio Argentino Roca
promoted the establishment of a penal colony
for re-offenders, modeled after one in Tasmania
, Australia
, in an effort to secure permanent residents from Argentina and to help establish Argentine sovereignty
over all of Tierra del Fuego. But only after the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina did formal efforts get under way to establish the township and its prison.
During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia following rumors of large gold fields, which proved to be false. On the 12th of October 1884, as part of the South Atlantic Expedition, Commodore
Augusto Lasserre
established the sub-division of Ushuaia, with the missionaries and naval officers signing the Act of Ceremony. Don Feliz M Paz was named Governor of Tierra del Fuego and in 1885 named Ushuaia as its capital. In 1885 the territory police was organized under Antonio A Romero with headquarters also in Ushuaia. But it was not until 1904 that the Federal Government of Argentina
recognized Ushuaia as the capital of Tierra del Fuego.
Ushuaia suffered several epidemics, including typhus
, pertussis
, and measles
, that decimated the native population. But because the Yámana were not included in census data the exact numbers lost are not known. The first census was held in 1893 with 113 men and 36 women living in Ushuaia. The prison was formally announced in an Executive order
by Roca in 1896. By 1911 the Yámana had all practically disappeared, so the mission was closed. The population grew to 1,558 by the 1914 census.
In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires
but also some political prisoners. A separate military prison opened in 1903 at the nearby Puerto Golondrina
. The two prisons merged in 1910, and that combined complex still stands today. It operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón
closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices. Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north. After the prison closed, it became a part of the Base Naval Ushuaia , functioning as a storage and office facility until the early 1990s. Later it was converted into the current Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia.
During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around a prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego. The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example of the British in Tasmania
and the French in Devil's Island
. Escape from Tierra del Fuego was similarly difficult, although two prisoners managed to escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison. They also built a railway to the settlement, now a tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.
Ushuaia has long been described as the southernmost city
in the world. While there are settlements farther south, the only one of any notable size is Puerto Williams
, a Chile
an settlement of some 2000 residents (mostly families of the nearby military bases). Puerto Williams also calls itself the world's southernmost city, but this claim is dubious as the Chilean government itself defines a city as an urban entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants. As a center of population, commerce, and culture, and as a town of significant size and importance, Ushuaia however clearly qualifies as a city. A 1998 article in the newspaper Clarín reported that the designation "Southernmost city in the world" had been transferred to Puerto Williams by a joint committee from Argentina and Chile, but this was denied by Argentine authorities, and the Secretariat of Tourism of Argentina continues to use the slogan in official documentation and web sites.
Ushuaia has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen
Cfc) Temperatures average 1.6 °C (34.9 °F) in the coolest month (July), and 10.4 °C (50.7 °F) in the warmest month (January). The record low is −25 °C, and record high 29 °C (85 °F) (December). The record low ever recorded in summer is −6 °C. On average the city experiences 200 days of light rain or snow a year, with many cloudy and foggy days. Despite receiving only 530 millimetres (21 in) average annual precipitation, Ushuaia is very humid. A similar climate is found in Tórshavn
(Faroe Islands
), Unalaska
(Alaska
), Reykjavík
(Iceland
) and Stanley
(Falkland Islands
).
The southwestern winds make the outer islands wetter, reaching 1400 mm (55 in) at Isla de los Estados (Staten Island). Because temperatures are cool throughout the year, there is little evaporation. Snow is common in winter and regularly occurs throughout the year. Ushuaia occasionally experiences snow in summer (from November to March). Strong winds whip the town.
The main economic activities are fishing
, natural gas
and oil
extraction, sheep farming
and ecotourism
.
Tourist attractions include the Tierra del Fuego National Park
and Lapataia Bay. The park can be reached by highway, or via the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo) from Ushuaia. The city has a museum of Yámana, English, and Argentine settlement, including its years as a prison colony. Wildlife attractions include local birds, penguin
s, seal
s, and orcas, many of these species colonizing islands in the Beagle Channel
. There are daily bus and boat tours to Harberton
, the Bridges family compound. Tours also visit the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
. Les Eclaireurs is sometimes confused with the "Lighthouse at the End of the World" (Faro del fin del mundo) made famous by Jules Verne
in the novel of the same name; but the latter lies some 200 mi (320 km) east of Ushuaia on Isla de los Estados
(Staten Island).
Renacer electronics
factory
, is among the largest in Patagonia
.
There are a number of ski areas
close to Ushuaia, including Glacier El Martial and Cerro Castor. Opened in 1999, Cerro Castor is the southernmost ski area in the world. On Cerro Castor, it is possible to ski just 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. The summit reaches an elevation of 1057 meters (3468 ft) above sea level, and consistently cool temperatures allow the longest skiing season in South America. Winter temperatures fluctuate between 0° and −5 °C (32 to 23 °F) It has five ski lift
s and 26 ski trails
for all skill levels. There are cafeterias, mountain huts, a ski school, a first aid room and a forest of beech. Snowboarding, sledding, and snowshoeing are also available at Cerro Castor, in addition to alpine skiing. It is located on the southern side of Cerro Krund, 27 km (17 mi) north of Ushuaia. The ski season is typically between June through October. The glacier
is popular even during the summer months, when the chairlift
operates in both directions. Hiking trails lead from the city's edge to the base of the glacier, which has retreated
considerably over the past century, as shown in photographs on display at the Antarctic Museum of Ushuaia.
. The Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia
is one of the youngest schools in the city and it was modeled after the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires
. Another important secondary school is Colegio Diocesano Monseñor Miguel Ángel Alemán
, which takes its name after the Monsignor of the same name.
The National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco operates a campus in Ushuaia, with Faculties of Engineering
, Economics
and Humanities
, and Social Sciences
.
.
Air
Ushuaia receives regular flights at Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport from Buenos Aires
and Santiago, Chile
.
Sea
In addition to being a vacation destination for local and international tourists, Ushuaia is also the key access point to the Southern Ocean
, including subantarctic
islands such as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
and Antarctic islands such as the South Orkney Islands
and the South Shetland Islands
. Its commercial pier is the major port of departure in the world for tourist and scientific expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula
. Cruise ship
s visiting the Falkland Islands
(referred to by Argentinians as Islas Malvinas) and Antarctica dock at the port, as well as Princess Cruises
, Holland America Line
, Celebrity Cruises
which transit between Valparaíso
, Chile, to Buenos Aires
and beyond. Antarpply Expeditions, Global Maritime, Hurtigruten
, Lindblad Expeditions, Orient Lines
, Quark Expeditions
, Regent Seven Seas Cruises
, and other passenger and freight lines provide regularly scheduled services between Ushuaia and all local seaports and settlements. Australis Cruises provides regular service between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas from September to April. Tourists can also visit Cape Horn
(in Chilean waters) by boat or helicopter.
Land
The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway, which is also the southern end of Argentina National Route 3
, is located in Tierra del Fuego National Park.
Ushuaia is surrounded by Magellanic subpolar forests
. On the hills around the town, the following indigenous trees are found: Drimys winteri
(Winter's bark), Maytenus magellanica
(Hard-log Mayten) and several species of Nothofagus
(Southern Beech).
Trees in Ushuaia tend to follow the wind direction, and are therefore called "flag-trees
", for their uni-directional growth pattern.
Fauna
and broadcast on the French TV channel TF1
from September 1987 to June 1995. The show is known in English as Ushuaia: The Ultimate Adventure, and this language's version was hosted by Perri Peltz
and was shown on NBC
, CNBC
, and international affiliates of the Discovery Channel
.
were married in Ushuaia. Although the Civil Code of Argentina
at that time did not allow marriage between people of the same sex
, Governor Fabiana Ríos
issued a special decree allowing the couple to wed there. The marriage was annulled
when the decree was reversed by Tierra del Fuego's judiciary
, since the Civil Code did not support it. Same sex marriage became legal nationwide in Argentina a few months later, on July 15, 2010, after the approval of a gender-neutral bill by the Argentine National Congress
.
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Tierra del Fuego 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...
, 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...
. It is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world
The southernmost city in the world
"The southernmost city in the world" is a slogan used to attract tourists, including those bound for Antarctica, to various southern cities. Currently, three cities or towns use this slogan; there are several settlements further south than the three, but none are considered to be large enough to...
. Ushuaia is located in a wide bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
on the southern coast of 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...
, bounded on the north by the Martial mountain
Martial Mountains
The Martial Mountains are a mountain range in Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego located east of Cordillera Darwin, just north of Ushuaia, along the Beagle Channel coast....
range and on the south by the 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....
. It is the only municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Department of Ushuaia, which has an area of 9390 km² (3,625 sq mi).
History
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...
(also known as Yámana), occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island.
The British ship 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...
under the command of Captain 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...
first reached the channel on January 29, 1833 during its maiden voyage surveying Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American 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 , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
. The city was originally named by early British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
missionaries using the native Yámana
Yamana
Yamana may mean:* Yámana, an alternate name for the Yaghan language and people, in Chile and Argentina* Yamana clan, a Japanese clan * Yamana Gold Inc., a Canadian-based gold mining company operating in South and Central America...
name for the area. Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
is described in Lucas Bridges
Lucas Bridges
Esteban Lucas Bridges was an Anglo-Argentine author and explorer. He was the third child and second son of Anglican missionary Reverend Thomas Bridges and "the third white native of Ushuaia" at the southernmost tip of South America...
’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). The name Ushuaia first appears in letters and reports of the South American Mission Society in England. The British missionary Waite Hockin Stirling
Waite Hockin Stirling
Waite Hockin Stirling was a 19th century missionary with the Patagonian Missionary Society and was the first Anglican Bishop of the Falkland Islands....
became the first European to live in Ushuaia when he stayed with the Yámana people between the 18th of January and mid-September 1869. In 1870 more British missionaries arrived to establish a small settlement. The following year the first marriage was performed. During 1872, 36 baptisms and 7 marriages and the first European birth (Thomas Despard Bridges) in Tierra del Fuego were registered. The first house constructed in Ushuaia was a pre-assembled 3 room home prepared in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
in 1870 for Reverend Thomas Bridges. One room was for the Bridges family, a second was for a Yámana married couple, while the third served as the chapel.
During 1873 Juan and Clara Lawrence, the first Argentine citizens to visit Ushuaia, arrived to teach school. That same year the Argentine President Julio Argentino Roca
Julio Argentino Roca
Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz was an army general who served as President of Argentina from 12 October 1880 to 12 October 1886 and again from 12 October 1898 to 12 October 1904.-Upbringing and early career:...
promoted the establishment of a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
for re-offenders, modeled after one in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in an effort to secure permanent residents from Argentina and to help establish Argentine sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
over all of Tierra del Fuego. But only after the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina did formal efforts get under way to establish the township and its prison.
During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia following rumors of large gold fields, which proved to be false. On the 12th of October 1884, as part of the South Atlantic Expedition, Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Augusto Lasserre
Augusto Lasserre
Commodore Augusto Lasserre was an officer in the Argentine Navy. He was born in 1826 in Buenos Aires. Lasserre was promoted to the rank of Captain on the 11 June 1852. Later he was promoted to Commander of the Argentine Navy....
established the sub-division of Ushuaia, with the missionaries and naval officers signing the Act of Ceremony. Don Feliz M Paz was named Governor of Tierra del Fuego and in 1885 named Ushuaia as its capital. In 1885 the territory police was organized under Antonio A Romero with headquarters also in Ushuaia. But it was not until 1904 that the Federal Government of 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...
recognized Ushuaia as the capital of Tierra del Fuego.
Ushuaia suffered several epidemics, including typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, pertussis
Pertussis
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough , is a highly contagious bacterial disease caused by Bordetella pertussis. Symptoms are initially mild, and then develop into severe coughing fits, which produce the namesake high-pitched "whoop" sound in infected babies and children when they inhale air...
, and measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, that decimated the native population. But because the Yámana were not included in census data the exact numbers lost are not known. The first census was held in 1893 with 113 men and 36 women living in Ushuaia. The prison was formally announced in an Executive order
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
by Roca in 1896. By 1911 the Yámana had all practically disappeared, so the mission was closed. The population grew to 1,558 by the 1914 census.
In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
but also some political prisoners. A separate military prison opened in 1903 at the nearby Puerto Golondrina
Puerto Golondrina
Puerto Golondrina is a suburb of the City of Ushuaia, capital of the Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, located just west of the city centre near the Airport....
. The two prisons merged in 1910, and that combined complex still stands today. It operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices. Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north. After the prison closed, it became a part of the Base Naval Ushuaia , functioning as a storage and office facility until the early 1990s. Later it was converted into the current Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia.
During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around a prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego. The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example of the British in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and the French in Devil's Island
Devil's Island
Devil's Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana . It has an area of 14 ha . It was a small part of the notorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952...
. Escape from Tierra del Fuego was similarly difficult, although two prisoners managed to escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison. They also built a railway to the settlement, now a tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.
Geography
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the world. While there are settlements farther south, the only one of any notable size is 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...
, a 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 settlement of some 2000 residents (mostly families of the nearby military bases). Puerto Williams also calls itself the world's southernmost city, but this claim is dubious as the Chilean government itself defines a city as an urban entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants. As a center of population, commerce, and culture, and as a town of significant size and importance, Ushuaia however clearly qualifies as a city. A 1998 article in the newspaper Clarín reported that the designation "Southernmost city in the world" had been transferred to Puerto Williams by a joint committee from Argentina and Chile, but this was denied by Argentine authorities, and the Secretariat of Tourism of Argentina continues to use the slogan in official documentation and web sites.
Climate
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) Temperatures average 1.6 °C (34.9 °F) in the coolest month (July), and 10.4 °C (50.7 °F) in the warmest month (January). The record low is −25 °C, and record high 29 °C (85 °F) (December). The record low ever recorded in summer is −6 °C. On average the city experiences 200 days of light rain or snow a year, with many cloudy and foggy days. Despite receiving only 530 millimetres (21 in) average annual precipitation, Ushuaia is very humid. A similar climate is found in Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
(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...
), Unalaska
Unalaska, Alaska
Unalaska is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off of mainland Alaska....
(Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
), Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
(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...
) and Stanley
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
(Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
).
The southwestern winds make the outer islands wetter, reaching 1400 mm (55 in) at Isla de los Estados (Staten Island). Because temperatures are cool throughout the year, there is little evaporation. Snow is common in winter and regularly occurs throughout the year. Ushuaia occasionally experiences snow in summer (from November to March). Strong winds whip the town.
Economy
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, natural gas
Natural 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 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
Tierra del Fuego National Park
Tierra 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...
and Lapataia Bay. The park can be reached by highway, or via the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo) from Ushuaia. The city has a museum of Yámana, English, and Argentine settlement, including its years as a prison colony. Wildlife attractions include local birds, penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s, seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s, and orcas, many of these species colonizing islands in the 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....
. There are daily bus and boat tours to Harberton
Estancia Harberton
Estancia Harberton was established in 1886, when the missionary pioneer Thomas Bridges resigned from the Anglican mission at Ushuaia. The estancia was named for Harberton, Devon, the home of his wife, Mary Ann Varder...
, the Bridges family compound. Tours also visit the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is a slightly conically shaped lighthouse standing on the northeastern-most islet of the five or more Les Eclaireurs islets, which it takes its name from, 5 Nautical mile east of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina...
. Les Eclaireurs is sometimes confused with the "Lighthouse at the End of the World" (Faro del fin del mundo) made famous by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
in the novel of the same name; but the latter lies some 200 mi (320 km) east of Ushuaia on 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...
(Staten Island).
Manufacturing
Ushuaia's industrial sector, led by the GrundigGrundig
Grundig AG is a German manufacturer of consumer electronics for home entertainment which transferred to Turkish control in 2004-2007. Established in 1945 in Nuremberg by Max Grundig, the company changed hands several times before becoming part of the Turkish Koç Holding group...
Renacer electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
, is among the largest in Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Arts and culture
Since 2007 Ushuaia has hosted the Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo del Fin del Mundo (Bienniel of Contemporary Art at the End of the World), created and organized by the Patagonia Arte & Desafío Foundation under the rubric "South Pole of the Arts, Sciences, and Ecology". The Bienal has gathered over one hundred artists from five continents addressing the motto "think at the End of the World that another world is possible". As a pedagogical project it encourages students at all levels to "think about a better world".Sports
As in most of Argentina, football is a popular sport in Ushuaia, and in 2010 the TV show FIFA Mundial did a story about the sport's development in this locality.Parks and recreation
Downhill and cross-country skiingThere are a number of ski areas
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
close to Ushuaia, including Glacier El Martial and Cerro Castor. Opened in 1999, Cerro Castor is the southernmost ski area in the world. On Cerro Castor, it is possible to ski just 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. The summit reaches an elevation of 1057 meters (3468 ft) above sea level, and consistently cool temperatures allow the longest skiing season in South America. Winter temperatures fluctuate between 0° and −5 °C (32 to 23 °F) It has five ski lift
Ski lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
s and 26 ski trails
Piste
A piste is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. The term is European, from the French for trail or track, synonymous with trail, slope, or groomed run in North America....
for all skill levels. There are cafeterias, mountain huts, a ski school, a first aid room and a forest of beech. Snowboarding, sledding, and snowshoeing are also available at Cerro Castor, in addition to alpine skiing. It is located on the southern side of Cerro Krund, 27 km (17 mi) north of Ushuaia. The ski season is typically between June through October. The 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...
is popular even during the summer months, when the chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
operates in both directions. Hiking trails lead from the city's edge to the base of the glacier, which has retreated
Retreat of glaciers since 1850
The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use, mountain recreation, animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt, and in the longer term, the level of the oceans...
considerably over the past century, as shown in photographs on display at the Antarctic Museum of Ushuaia.
Education
Ushuaia has twelve secondary schools, four of which also provide adult educationAdult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
. The Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia
Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia
Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia is an affiliate of the central Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires. Both are public college preparatory schools in Argentina which provide a free, rigorous, multi-disciplinary education that includes classical languages such as Latin. The Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia was...
is one of the youngest schools in the city and it was modeled after the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires
Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires
Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the tradition of the European gymnasium it provides a free education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Argentina...
. Another important secondary school is Colegio Diocesano Monseñor Miguel Ángel Alemán
Colegio Diocesano Monseñor Miguel Ángel Alemán
Colegio Diocesano Monseñor Miguel Ángel Alemán is an elite high school from the city of Ushuaia, Argentina. It provides a multi-disciplinary education that includes three main disciplines which are Economy, Humanities and Natural Science....
, which takes its name after the Monsignor of the same name.
The National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco operates a campus in Ushuaia, with Faculties of Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
.
Newspapers
There are two main newspapers, El Diario del Fin del Mundo and El Diario La Prensa, plus several other minor publications.Infrastructure
Ushuaia has a fully functional hospital, an international airport, and primary and secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher learning. Its residents enjoy an organized public transportation system and a functioning municipality. Ushuaia is also the capital of Tierra del Fuego ProvinceTierra 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...
.
Transportation
Ushuaia receives regular flights at Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
.
Sea
In addition to being a vacation destination for local and international tourists, Ushuaia is also the key access point to the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
, including subantarctic
Subantarctic
The Subantarctic is a region in the southern hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° – 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and...
islands such as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands, known as the South Sandwich...
and Antarctic islands such as the South Orkney Islands
South Orkney Islands
The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. They have a total area of about ....
and the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
. Its commercial pier is the major port of departure in the world for tourist and scientific expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
. Cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s visiting the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
(referred to by Argentinians as Islas Malvinas) and Antarctica dock at the port, as well as Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
, Holland America Line
Holland America Line
The Holland America Line is a cruise shipping company. It was founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company , a shipping and passenger line. Headquartered in Rotterdam and providing service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line...
, Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
which transit between Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile, to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and beyond. Antarpply Expeditions, Global Maritime, Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten or Hurtigruta is a Norwegian passenger and freight line with daily sailings along Norway's western and northern coast. Sometimes referred to in English as Norwegian Coastal Express, Hurtigruten ships sail almost the entire length of the country, completing the roundtrip journey in 11...
, Lindblad Expeditions, Orient Lines
Orient Lines
Orient Lines was a cruise line specialising in exotic destinations that was in operation 1993—2008. The brand was founded in 1993 by Gerry Herrod, who had previously owned Ocean Cruise Lines. Orient Lines was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998, and ceased operations in March 2008.The brand was...
, Quark Expeditions
Quark Expeditions
Quark Expeditions was founded in 1991 by Lars Wikander and Mike McDowell, specializing in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic aboard purpose-built expedition vessels. In 1998, Lars Wikander became the majority owner of the company....
, Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is a cruise line, formerly known as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company offers luxury cruises which visit over 300 ports world-wide. Regent Seven Seas specializes in ships with small passenger capacity and many included...
, and other passenger and freight lines provide regularly scheduled services between Ushuaia and all local seaports and settlements. Australis Cruises provides regular service between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas from September to April. Tourists can also visit 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...
(in Chilean waters) by boat or helicopter.
Land
The southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway, which is also the southern end of Argentina National Route 3
National Route 3 (Argentina)
Ruta Nacional 3 is an Argentine highway, stretching from the eastern side of the country in Buenos Aires, crossing the provinces of Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Chubut Province, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego...
, is located in Tierra del Fuego National Park.
Health care
Located at the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre and Maipú, the Hospital Gobernador Ernesto M. Campos is one of the big health care centers in Ushuaia, the other one is private and it is called Clínica San Jorge.Ecology
FloraUshuaia is surrounded by Magellanic subpolar forests
Magellanic 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...
. On the hills around the town, the following indigenous trees are found: 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...
(Winter's bark), Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica
Maytenus magellanica, is a small evergreen tree from the genus Maytenus, up to 5 meters , in the Celastraceae...
(Hard-log Mayten) and several species of Nothofagus
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...
(Southern Beech).
Trees in Ushuaia tend to follow the wind direction, and are therefore called "flag-trees
Krummholz
Krummholz or Krumholtz formation — also called Knieholz — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed...
", for their uni-directional growth pattern.
Fauna
Filmography
Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'Extrême was the name of a television programme, presented by Nicolas HulotNicolas Hulot
Nicolas Hulot is the founder and president of the Fondation Nicolas-Hulot, an environmental group first created in 1990....
and broadcast on the French TV channel TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
from September 1987 to June 1995. The show is known in English as Ushuaia: The Ultimate Adventure, and this language's version was hosted by Perri Peltz
Perri Peltz
Perri Peltz rejoined WNBC in 2005 after a nine year absence to co-anchor Live at Five with Sue Simmons. Peltz's previous stint at WNBC was from 1987 to 1996 where she co-anchored Weekend Today in New York with Ken Taylor and Weekend editions of News 4 New York at 6 and 11 with Ralph Penza...
and was shown on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, and international affiliates of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
.
Gay marriage in Ushuaia
On 29 December 2009, the first homosexual couple to marry in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
were married in Ushuaia. Although the Civil Code of Argentina
Civil Code of Argentina
The Civil Code of Argentina is the legal code which forms the foundation of the system of civil law in Argentina. It was written by Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, as the culmination of a series of attempts to codify civil law in Argentina. The original code was approved on September 25, 1869, by the...
at that time did not allow marriage between people of the same sex
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, Governor Fabiana Ríos
Fabiana Ríos
María Fabiana Ríos is an Argentine politician of the party ARI . She is the governor of the province of Tierra del Fuego since December 17, 2007. She is currently the only woman governor in Argentina.Ríos was elected governor on June 24, 2007...
issued a special decree allowing the couple to wed there. The marriage was annulled
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
when the decree was reversed by Tierra del Fuego's judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
, since the Civil Code did not support it. Same sex marriage became legal nationwide in Argentina a few months later, on July 15, 2010, after the approval of a gender-neutral bill by the Argentine National Congress
Argentine National Congress
The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies....
.
Sister cities
| Country | City |
|---|---|
 Israel |
Eilat |
 United States |
Barrow, Alaska Barrow, Alaska Barrow is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is one of the northernmost cities in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States of America, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point. Barrow's population was 4,212 at the... |