Tierra del Fuego
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- This article is about the group of islands called "Tierra del Fuego". For other meanings, see Tierra del Fuego (disambiguation).
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Tierra del Fuego (Spanish for "Land of Fire") (English pronunciation [tiˈɛɹə dɛl ˈfwego]; Spanish [ˈtjera ð̞el ˈfweɰo]) is an archipelago, 28,476 sq mi (73,753 km²), separated from the southernmost tip of the South American mainland by the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago forms Cape Horn.
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[edit] Geography
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 48,100 km² , and a group of smaller islands.
Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes Region of Chile, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chilean towns are Porvenir, on the main island, and Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island. Puerto Toro lies a few kilometers south of Puerto Williams and is the southernmost town in the world.
The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, being part of the Tierra del Fuego Province; its capital is Ushuaia and the other important city in the region is Río Grande, near the Atlantic coast.
[edit] History
Its name comes from Ferdinand Magellan, who was the first European to pass it in 1520. He believed he was seeing the many fires (fuego in Spanish) of the Amerindians, which were visible from the sea, and that the "Indians" were waiting in the forests to ambush his armada. It is, however, more likely that the fires he witnessed were from natural sources such as lightning.<ref>Bergreen, Laurence. 2003. Over the Edge of the World. p179. ISBN 0-06-621173-5</ref>
Four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button" (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert Fitzroy on his first voyage with the Beagle in 1830. They were taken to meet the King and Queen in London and were to an extent celebrities. The surviving three returned to Tierra del Fuego with the Beagle with Charles Darwin, who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.
In 1881 it was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously it was claimed by both countries in its entirety.
[edit] Flora
There are only three species of trees found in Tierra Del Fuego: Canelo or Winter's Bark (Drimys winteri), and two kinds of Southern Beech, Nothofagus antarctica and Nothofagus pumilio.
[edit] Economy
The main industries are oil, natural gas, sheep farming and ecotourism. On the Argentine side there are several power plants established.
[edit] See also
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- Fuegians
- Yaghan language (only one speaker left)
- 1984 Argentina and Chile Peace and Friendship Treaty
- The Voyage of the Beagle
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Bridges, Lucas. 1948. Uttermost Part of the Earth. Reprint with Introduction by Gavin Young, Century Hutchinson, 1987. ISBN 0-7126-1493-1
- Keynes, Richard. 2002. Fossils, Finches and Fuegians: Charles Darwin's Adventures and Discoveries on the Beagle, 1832-1836. HarperCollinsPublishers, London. Reprint: 2003.
- Bollen, Patrick. 2000. "Tierra del Fuego" B/W Photobook. Lannoo Publishers, Tielt, Belgium. ISBN 90-209-4040-6
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