Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of "Antártica Chilena Province"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of "Antártica Chilena Province"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Spanish for 'Great Island of Land of Fire'), also formerly called Isla de Xátiva, is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan. The western portion (61.43%) of the island (27,294 km (10,538.3 sq mi)) is in Chile (Province of Tierra del Fuego and Antártica Chilena Province), while the eastern portion (38.57%, or 20,698 km (7,991.5 sq mi)) is in Argentina (Tierra del Fuego Province). It forms the major landmass in an extended archipelago (island group) also called Tierra del Fuego.

The island has an area of 47,992 km (18,530 sq mi), making it the largest island in South America and the 29th largest island in the world. Its two biggest towns are Ushuaia and Río Grande, both in Argentina. Other towns are Tolhuin, Porvenir, Camerón, and Cerro Sombrero. The Argentine side, Tierra del Fuego Province, has 190,641 inhabitants (2022), whereas the Chilean side has only 6,656 (2012), almost all located in the Tierra del Fuego Province.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Antártica Chilena

Antártica Chilena Province (Spanish: Provincia Antártica Chilena) is the southernmost of the four provinces in Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region (XII). The capital is Puerto Williams. The province comprises the extreme southern part of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (south of the Cordillera Darwin), the islands south and west of Isla Grande (Diego Ramírez Islands and its National Park, Diego Ramirez Islands & Drake Passage National Park), and Chile's claims in Antarctica. The province is administratively divided into two communes (comunas): Cabo de Hornos, located at the southern tip of South America, and Antártica, a wedge-shaped claim of Antarctica, which is not internationally recognized. Its total area of 1,265,853.7 km (488,749 sq mi) makes it almost twice as large as all other provinces of Chile combined.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego (/tiˈɛrə dɛl ˈfwɡ/; Spanish: [ˈtjera ðel ˈfweɣo]; Spanish for 'Land of Fire'), also rarely called Fireland in English, is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan.

The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, with an area of 73,746 km (28,473 sq mi), along with numerous smaller islands, including Cape Horn and Diego Ramírez Islands. The western part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, about two-thirds including its many islands, is part of Chile, and the eastern part is part of Argentina. The southernmost extent of the archipelago, Cape Horn, lies just north of 56° south.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Beagle Channel

Beagle Channel (Spanish: Canal del Beagle; Yahgan: Onašaga) is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from various smaller islands including the islands of Picton, Lennox and Nueva; Navarino; Hoste; Londonderry; and Stewart. The channel's eastern area forms part of the border between Chile and Argentina and the western area is entirely within Chile.

The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open-ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Elephant seal

Elephant seals or sea elephants are very large, oceangoing true seals in the genus Mirounga. Both species, the northern elephant seal (M. angustirostris) and the southern elephant seal (M. leonina), were hunted to the brink of extinction for lamp oil by the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have since recovered. They can weigh up to 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). Despite their name, elephant seals aren't closely related to elephants, and the large proboscis/trunk that males of the species possess is an example of convergent evolution.

The northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The most northerly breeding location on the Pacific Coast is at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The southern elephant seal is found in the Southern Hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia and Macquarie Island, and on the coasts of New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdés. In southern Chile, there is a small colony of 120 animals at Jackson Bay (Bahía Jackson) in Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo) on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Ushuaia

Ushuaia (/ˈsw.ə/ oo-SWY, Spanish: [uˈswaja]) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southernmost city.

Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is 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 and has an area of 9,390 km (3,625 sq mi). It was founded on 12 October 1884 by Augusto Lasserre and is located on the shores of the Beagle Channel surrounded by the mountain range of the Martial Glacier, in the Bay of Ushuaia. In addition to being an administrative center, it is a light industrial port and tourist destination. Ushuaia is located roughly 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the Antarctic Peninsula and is one of five internationally recognized Antarctic gateway cities; it is one of two South American cities with that status along with Chile's Punta Arenas.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Picton, Lennox and Nueva

Picton, Lennox and Nueva (Spanish: Islas Picton, Nueva y Lennox) form a group of three islands (and their islets) at the extreme southern tip of South America, in the Chilean commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. Located in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, they lie east of Navarino Island and are separated from the Argentine part of Isla Grande in the north by the Beagle Channel. They have an area of 170.4 km (Lennox), 105.4 km (Picton), 120.0 km (Nueva).

Close to the islands are the islets of Snipe, Augustus, Becasses, Luff, Jorge, Hermanos, Solitario, Gardiner, Terhalten, Sesambre and others.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Navarino Island

Navarino Island (Spanish: Isla Navarino) is a large Chilean island, with an area of 2,514 km (971 sq mi) and a coastline of 510 km (320 mi). It is located 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 Region of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica. Its population is concentrated primarily in the communal capital, Puerto Williams, and in small settlements like Puerto Navarino, Río Guanaco and Puerto Toro. The highest point of the island is Pico Navarino at 1,195 m (3,921 ft). The island is a popular destination for fly-fishers.

↑ Return to Menu

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego in the context of Hoste Island

Hoste Island (Spanish: Isla 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. It is named after William Hoste, one of Lord Nelson's protégés.

↑ Return to Menu