Ushuaia in the context of "Carbajal Valley"

Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: [ˈtjera ðel ˈfweɣo]; Spanish for 'Land of Fire'), officially the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands (Spanish: Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur), is the southernmost and least populous Argentine province. The provincial capital city is Ushuaia.

The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 19,000 miles (about 30,000 kilometres) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. It is recognized as the longest road in the world. The highway connects 14 countries: Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

No road in the U.S. (except for Alaska) or Canada is officially designated as part of the Pan-American Highway, which officially begins at the U.S.-Mexico border in Nuevo Laredo and runs south.

Base Orcadas is an Argentine scientific station in Antarctica, and the oldest of the stations in Antarctica still in operation. It is located on Laurie Island, one of the South Orkney Islands (Spanish: Islas Orcadas del Sur), at 4 meters (13 ft) above sea level and 170 meters (558 ft) from the coastline. Established by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1903 and transferred to the Argentine government in 1904, the base has been permanently populated since, being one of six Argentine permanent bases in Argentina's claim to Antarctica, and the first permanently inhabited base in Antarctica.

The nearest Argentine port is Ushuaia, which is 1,502 km (811 nmi) away. The base has 11 buildings and four main topics of research: continental glaciology, seismology, sea-ice-zone glaciology (since 1985) and meteorological observations (since 1903).

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.

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.

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.