Punta Arenas in the context of "Tierra del Fuego gold rush"

The Magallanes Region (locally [maɣaˈʝanes]), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region (Spanish: Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena) or Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica Region in English, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second least populated region of Chile. It comprises four provinces: Última Esperanza, Magallanes, Tierra del Fuego, and Antártica Chilena. The region takes its name from the Strait of Magellan which runs through it, which was in turn named after Ferdinand Magellan, the leader of the European expedition that discovered it.

Magallanes's geographical features include Torres del Paine, Cape Horn, Tierra del Fuego island, and the Strait of Magellan. It also includes the Antarctic territory claimed by Chile. Despite its large area, much of the land in the region is rugged or closed off for sheep farming, and is unsuitable for settlement. 80% of the population lives in the capital Punta Arenas, a major market city and one of the main hubs for Antarctic exploration.

Puerto Williams (Spanish: [ˈpweɾto ˈ(ɣ)wiljams]; Spanish for "Port Williams") is a city, port and naval base on Navarino Island in Chile. It faces the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, one of four provinces in the Magellan and Chilean Antarctica Region, is the main city inside the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, and administers the communes of Chilean Antarctic Territory and Cabo de Hornos. It has a population of 2,874, including both naval personnel and civilians. Puerto Williams claims the title of world's southernmost city.The settlement was founded in 1953, and was first named Puerto Luisa. The town was later named after John Williams Wilson, a British man who founded Fuerte Bulnes, the first settlement in the Strait of Magellan. It has served primarily as a naval base for Chile. The Chilean Navy runs the Guardiamarina Zañartu Airport and hospital, as well as nearby meteorological stations. Since the late 20th century, the number of navy personnel has decreased in Puerto Williams and the civilian population has increased. In that period, tourism and support of scientific research have contributed to an increase in economic activity.

The port attracts tourists going to Cape Horn or Antarctica; its tourism industry developed around the concept of "the world's southernmost city". Based on some definitions of what constitutes a city, Puerto Williams could in fact be the southernmost city in the world. However, others dispute this because of the small settlement size and population in favor of Ushuaia or Punta Arenas. Chilean and Argentine media, a bilateral agreement between Chile and Argentina, and the Puerto Williams administration identify it as the southernmost city in the world.

Ushuaia (/uːˈswaɪ.ə/ oo-SWY-ə, 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.

Southernmost settlements are cities, towns, weather stations or permanent military bases which are farther south than latitude 45°S. They are closely related to the Southern Ocean or either the Roaring Forties or Furious Fifties. Antarctic bases are excluded due to not having a permanent population.

Unlike the northern hemisphere, where several major metropolitan areas such as Moscow, Harbin, London, Paris, Seattle, and Montreal are all located north of the 45°N parallel, the only permanently populated areas south of the 45°S parallel are the small and sparsely populated regions of southern Patagonia in South America, the Falkland Islands, and the southernmost tip of New Zealand.

Leona Lucila Vidal (born 1972, formerly Vidal Roberts) is a Falkland Islands curator, radio broadcaster and politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Stanley constituency from the 2017 general election until 2025. She previously served as Director and Manager of the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust.

Vidal was born in Punta Arenas, Chile to Nelson Vidal and Eileen Biggs (a fifth generation Falkland Islander). The family moved to the Falklands when she was three. After attending Stanley Senior School, Vidal went to the United Kingdom to study Journalistic Law at Stradbroke College in Sheffield, where she met her husband.