View source for Tierra del Fuego

{{short description|Archipelago off the south of South America}}
{{about|the archipelago|its main island|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox islands
| name               = Tierra del Fuego archipelago
| image_name         = NASA Tierra del Fuego image.jpg
| image_caption      = Tierra del Fuego archipelago<br>at the tip of South America
| pushpin_map        = Tierra del Fuego
| pushpin_map_caption = Political map of Tierra del Fuego<br>and mainland South America
| native_name        = 
| native_name_link   = 
| nickname           = 
| location           = [[Pacific Ocean]], [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| coordinates        = 
| archipelago        = 
| total_islands      = 
| major_islands      = [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego]], [[Hoste Island|Hoste]], [[Navarino Island|Navarino]], [[Gordon Island|Gordon]], [[Wollaston Islands|Wollastone]], [[Noir Island|Noir]], [[Isla de los Estados|Staten]], [[Hermite Islands|Hermite]], [[Santa Inés Island|Santa Inés]], [[Clarence Island, Chile|Clarence]], [[Dawson Island|Dawson]], [[Capitán Aracena Island|Capitán Aracena]], [[Londonderry Island|Londonderry]], [[Picton, Lennox and Nueva|Picton, Lennox, Nueva]], [[Diego Ramírez Islands|Diego Ramírez]], [[O'Brien Island, Chile|O'Brien]], and [[Desolación Island]]s among many others
| area_sqmi          = 
| length_mi          = 
| width_mi           = 
| highest_mount      = {{interlanguage link|Monte Shipton|es}}
| elevation_ft       = 
| country            = {{Flag|Chile}}
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[Regions of Chile|Region]]
| country_admin_divisions = {{Flag|Magallanes y Antártica Chilena}}
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Provinces of Chile|Provinces]]
| country_admin_divisions_1 = [[Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile|Tierra del Fuego Province]] and [[Antártica Chilena (Province)|Antártica Chilena]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = [[Communes of Chile|Communes]]
| country_admin_divisions_2 = [[Cabo de Hornos, Chile|Cabo de Hornos]], [[Antártica]], [[Porvenir, Chile|Porvenir]], [[Primavera, Chile|Primavera]], [[Timaukel]]
| country1           = {{ARG}}
| country1_admin_divisions_title = [[Provinces of Argentina|Province]]
| country1_admin_divisions = {{flagicon|Tierra del Fuego}} [[Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina|Tierra del Fuego Province]]
| population         = ~201,000
| population_as_of   = 2022
| density_sqmi       = 
| ethnic_groups      = [[Argentine people|Argentines]], [[Chilean people|Chileans]], [[Selkʼnam people|Selkʼnam]]s, [[Kawésqar]], [[Yaghans]]
| additional_info    = 
}}

'''Tierra del Fuego''' ({{IPAc-en|t|i|ˈ|ɛr|ə|_|d|ɛ|l|_|ˈ|f|w|eɪ|ɡ|oʊ}}; {{IPA|es|ˈtjera ðel ˈfweɣo|lang}}; {{langnf|es||'''Land of Fire'''}}), also rarely called '''Fireland''' in English, is an [[archipelago]] off the southernmost tip of the [[South America]]n [[mainland]], across the [[Strait of Magellan]]. 

The archipelago consists of the main island, [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]], with an area of {{cvt|73,746|km2|sqmi|0}},<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Tierra del Fuego |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |url=https://britannica.com/place/Tierra-del-Fuego-archipelago-South-America |access-date=2025-02-07}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> The southernmost extent of the archipelago, Cape Horn, lies just north of [[56th parallel south|56° south]].

The earliest-known human settlement in Tierra del Fuego dates to {{circa|8,000 BC}}.<ref name="Ant86-331">{{cite journal |title=Hunter-gatherers, biogeographic barriers and the development of human settlement in Tierra del Fuego |journal=[[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]] |date=2012-03-01 |volume=86 |issue=331 |pages=71–87 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00062463|last1=Morello |first1=Flavia |last2=Borrero |first2=Luis |last3=Massone |first3=Mauricio |last4=Stern |first4=Charles |last5=García-Herbst |first5=Arleen |last6=McCulloch |first6=Robert |last7=Arroyo-Kalin |first7=Manuel |last8=Calás |first8=Elisa |last9=Torres |first9=Jimena |last10=Prieto |first10=Alfredo |last11=Martinez |first11=Ismael |last12=Bahamonde |first12=Gabriel |last13=Cárdenas |first13=Pedro |hdl=1893/3664 |s2cid=161882222 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Europeans first explored the islands during [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s expedition of 1520. {{lang|es|Tierra del Fuego}} ('Land of Fire') and similar names stem from sightings of the many fires that the inhabitants built along the coastline and possibly even in their canoes for warmth and signaling.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Australis [[S.A. (corporation)|S.A.]] |date=2017-04-11 |title=8 Facts You Never Knew About the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago |url=https://blogpatagonia.australis.com/8-facts-never-knew-tierra-del-fuego-archipelago |access-date=2025-01-26 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=In Search of Paradise Lost in Tierra del Fuego |first=James|last=Kelly |date=2017-06-05 |url=https://earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/in_search_of_paradise_lost_in_tierra_del_fuego |magazine=Earth Island Journal |publisher=[[Earth Island Institute]] |access-date=2025-01-26}}</ref>

Settlement by those of European descent and the displacement of the native populations did not begin until the second half of the nineteenth century, at the height of the [[Patagonian sheep farming boom]] and of the [[Tierra del Fuego gold rush|local gold rush]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Iparraguirre|first=Sylvia |title=Tierra del fuego: a biography of the end of the world |date=2024-03-19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SInnrYWflAcC&pg=PA146 |page=146 |publisher=Photo Design Ediciones - Florian von der Fecht |isbn=978-987-99166-9-8 |access-date=2016-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923100234/https://books.google.com/books?id=SInnrYWflAcC&pg=PA146 |archive-date=2023-09-23 |url-status=live}}</ref> Today, petroleum extraction dominates economic activity in the north of Tierra del Fuego, while tourism, manufacturing, and Antarctic logistics are important in the south.

== History ==

===Prehistory===
{{mainarticle|Fuegians}}
[[File:Selknam cazando.jpg|thumb|[[Selkʼnam people|Selkʼnam]] hunters (1930)]]

The earliest human settlement occurred approximately 8,000 BC. The [[Yahgan people|Yahgan]] were some of the earliest known humans to settle in Tierra del Fuego.{{dubious|date=January 2022}} Archaeological sites with characteristics of their culture have been found at locations such as [[Navarino Island]].<ref>{{cite web |first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |date=4 April 2008 |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18795 |title=Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens |publisher=Megalithic Portal |access-date=20 June 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610103246/http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18795 |archive-date=10 June 2011}}</ref>

===European exploration===

[[File:1572 Typus Orbis Terrarum Ortelius.jpg|thumb|World map from 1572, when the area was believed to be part of what was called [[Terra Australis]]]]
The name ''Tierra del Fuego'' was given by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]] while sailing for the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish Crown]] in 1520; he was the first European to visit these lands. He believed he was seeing the many fires (''fuego'' is Spanish for "fire") of the Indigenous inhabitants, which were visible from the sea, and that the "Indians" were waiting in the forests to ambush his [[Naval fleet|armada]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe |last=Bergreen |first=Laurence |year= 2003 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-186588-6 |page=179 }}</ref>{{efn|There is no direct evidence that the name Tierra del Fuego was given to the archipelago by Magellan himself or his companions. In its modern form, this name appeared on maps only in the middle of the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Woram |first=John |year=2009 |title=Here Be Giants: Travelers' Tales from the Land of the Patagons |url=https://whalesite.org/RV/GIANTS/PDF/01-MAGELLAN.pdf |publisher=Rockville Press, Incorporated |pages=14–18 |isbn=978-0-9769336-1-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://whalesite.org/RV/TIERRA/TEXTS/PLACENAMES.htm |title=Some Place Names from Early Voyages to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego |last=Woram |first=John |date=2012 |website=Whalesite.org |access-date=2024-08-23}}</ref>}}

In 1525, [[Francisco de Hoces]] was the first to speculate that Tierra del Fuego was one or more islands rather than part of what was then called [[Terra Australis]]. [[Francis Drake]] in 1578 and a [[Dutch East India Company]] expedition in 1616 learned more about the geography. The latter expedition named [[Cape Horn]] at [[Hornos Island]].

On his first voyage with {{HMS|Beagle}} in 1830, [[Robert FitzRoy]] picked up four native [[Fuegian]]s, including "[[Jemmy Button]]" (''Orundellico'') and [[Yokcushlu]], and brought them to England. The three who survived the voyage were taken to London to meet the king and queen and were, for a time, celebrities. They returned to Tierra del Fuego in the ''Beagle'' with FitzRoy and [[Charles Darwin]], who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.

===European colonization and extinction of Native Americans (1860–1910)===
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=right|image1=00 124 2490 Puerto Williams - Südamerika (Feuerland - Tierra del Fuego).jpg|image2=Ushuaia6a (js).jpg|width=200|caption1=[[Puerto Williams]] (2005)|caption2=The city of [[Ushuaia]] (2000)}}
{{See also|Tierra del Fuego gold rush|Selk'nam genocide|Patagonian sheep farming boom}}

During the second half of the nineteenth century, [[Salesians of Don Bosco|Salesian]] Catholic missions were established in Río Grande and [[Dawson Island]].

[[Anglicanism|Anglican]] missionaries, who had established missions on [[Keppel Island]] in 1855, established new missions in 1870 at [[Ushuaia]]. These missions continued to operate through the nineteenth century. Missionary [[Thomas Bridges (Anglican missionary)|Thomas Bridges]] (1842–1898) learned the native language and compiled a 30,000-word Yaghan grammar and dictionary while he worked at Ushuaia.<ref name="NY Times"/> It was published in the 20th century and is considered an important ethnological work.<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news|title=Cook Tried to Steal Parson's Life Work|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/05/21/104935739.pdf|access-date=30 May 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 May 1910|archive-date=18 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018054635/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/05/21/104935739.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

An 1879 Chilean expedition led by Ramón Serrano Montaner reported large amounts of [[placer deposit|placer]] gold in the streams and river beds of Tierra del Fuego. This prompted massive immigration to the main island between 1883 and 1909. Numerous Argentines, Chileans, and [[Croatians]] settled on the main island, leading to increased conflicts with native [[Selkʼnam]]. These late nineteenth century gold rushes led to the founding of numerous small settlements by immigrants, such as the Argentine settlements of Ushuaia and [[Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego|Río Grande]] and the Chilean settlements of [[Porvenir, Chile|Porvenir]] and [[Puerto Toro]].

[[Julius Popper]], a [[Romanian people|Romanian]] explorer, was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the region. Granted rights by the [[Government of Argentina|Argentine government]] to exploit any gold deposits he found in Tierra del Fuego, Popper has been identified as a central figure in the [[Selkʼnam genocide]].

Following contact with Europeans, the native Selkʼnam and [[Yaghan people|Yaghan]] populations were [[Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas|greatly reduced]] by unequal conflict and persecution by settlers, by [[infectious diseases]] to which the Indigenous people had no [[immunity (medical)|immunity]], and by mass transfer to the Salesian mission of Dawson Island. Despite the efforts of the missionaries, many natives died. Today, only [[Selknam genocide|a few Selkʼnam remain]]. Some of the few remaining Yaghan have settled in Villa Ukika in [[Navarino Island]]; others have scattered throughout Chile and Argentina.

Following the signing of the [[Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina|Boundary Treaty of 1881]], Tierra del Fuego was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously, it had been claimed in its entirety by both countries.

===Recent history (1940–present)===
{{see also|Beagle conflict}}

In 1945, a division of Chilean [[CORFO]] (Spanish acronym for Production Development Corporation), engaged in [[Hydrocarbon exploration|oil exploration]], discovered oil in northern Tierra del Fuego. Extraction began in 1949 and, in 1950, the Chile state-owned [[Empresa Nacional del Petróleo|ENAP]] (National Petroleum Company){{Fix|text=words missing}}. Until 1960, most oil extracted in Chile came from Tierra del Fuego.<ref>{{Citation
| last1  = Martinić
| first1 = Mateo
| author-link  = Mateo Martinic
| title     = La Tierra de los Fuegos
| publisher = Municipalidad de Porvenir
| place     = [[Punta Arenas]], Chile
| year    = 1982
| pages   = 164–171
|language=es
}}</ref> During the 1940s Chile and Argentina lodged their Antarctic claims. In the 1950s, the Chilean military founded [[Puerto Williams]]. In the 1960s and 1970s, sovereignty claims by Argentina over [[Picton, Lennox, and Nueva]] Islands in Tierra del Fuego led the two countries to the brink of war. In 1986, the [[National Congress of Argentina|Argentine congress]] decided that the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego should be a new province; the split was effected on 26 April 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tierradelfuego.gov.ar/historia/ihistoria.php |title=Historia de Tierra del Fuego |language=es |publisher=Tierradelfuego.gov.ar |access-date=20 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051438/http://www.tierradelfuego.gov.ar/historia/ihistoria.php |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>

== Geography ==

[[File:Beagle Channel -k.jpg|thumb|Glacier in [[Alberto de Agostini National Park]] (2011)]]
[[File:Nothofagus.jpg|thumb|Nothofagus, [[Estancia Harberton|Puerto Harberton]] (1997)]]

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 {{convert|48100|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, and a group of smaller islands. Of the main island the westernmost 29,484.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (11,384{{nobreak| sq mi}}, 61.43%) belongs to Chile, and 18,507.3&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (7,146{{nobreak| sq mi}}, 38.57%) belongs to Argentina. The archipelago is divided by an east–west channel, the [[Beagle Channel]], immediately south of the main island. The largest islands south of the Beagle Channel are [[Hoste Island|Hoste]] and [[Navarino Island|Navarino]].

The western part of the main island, and almost all the other islands, belong to Chile. They are part of the [[Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region]], the capital and chief town of which is [[Punta Arenas, Chile|Punta Arenas]], situated on the mainland across the strait. The largest [[Chile]]an towns are [[Porvenir, Chile|Porvenir]], capital of the Chilean [[Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile|Province of Tierra del Fuego]], located on the main island, and, on Navarino Island, [[Puerto Williams]], which is the capital of the [[Antártica Chilena Province]]. 

[[Puerto Toro]] lies a few kilometers south of Puerto Williams. Arguably, it is the [[Southernmost settlements|southernmost village]] in the world. The mostly uninhabited islands north and west of the main island are part of [[Magallanes Province]].

The eastern part of the main island and a few small islands in the Beagle Channel belong to Argentina. They are part of the [[Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina)|Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic Territory and South Atlantic Islands Province]], whose capital is [[Ushuaia]]. The other important city in the region is [[Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego|Río Grande]] on the Atlantic coast, the largest in the archipelago.

The [[Cordillera Darwin]] in the southwestern part of the main island contains many glaciers that reach the ocean. While [[Mount Darwin (Andes)|Mount Darwin]] had previously been thought to be the tallest mountain in the archipelago, this distinction now belongs to the unofficially named [[Monte Shipton]] at {{convert|2580|m|ft|abbr=off}}.<ref name="AJ">{{Cite journal
  | author = John Shipton
  | title = Monte Shipton or Monte Darwin?
  | journal = [[Alpine Journal]]
  | year = 2004
  | pages = 132–142
  | publisher = Alpine Club
  | location = London
  | url = http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_2004_files/AJ%202004%20132-142%20Shipton%20Cord%20Darwin.pdf
  | access-date = 28 March 2012
  | archive-date = 19 April 2014
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140419221728/http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_2004_files/AJ%202004%20132-142%20Shipton%20Cord%20Darwin.pdf
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>

The topography of Tierra del Fuego can be divided into four regions: an outer archipelago region ({{langx|es|Región Archipielágica}}) to the south and west, a mountainous region in the south ({{langx|es|Región Cordillerana}}),<ref name=Pisano124>[[#Pisano1977|Pisano (1977)]], p. 124</ref> a plains region ({{langx|es|Región de las Planicies Orientales}})<ref name=Pisano128>[[#Pisano1977|Pisano (1977)]], p. 128</ref> plus a sub-Andean zone in-between the last two zones ({{langx|es|Región Sub-Andina Oriental}}).<ref name=Pisano125>[[#Pisano1977|Pisano (1977)]], p. 125</ref>

===Geology===
{{see also|Andean orogeny}}
The geology of the archipelago is influenced by the effects of the [[Andean orogeny]] and the repeated [[Pleistocene]] [[glaciation]]s. The geology of the island can be divided into large east–west-oriented units. The southwestern islands of the archipelago, including [[Cape Horn]], are part of the [[South Patagonian Batholith]], while the [[Cordillera Darwin]] and the area around the [[Beagle Channel]] form the principal mountain range hosting the highest mountains. The Magallanes [[fold and thrust belt]] extends north of [[Almirantazgo Fjord]] and [[Fagnano Lake]], and north of this lies the Magallanes foreland, an old [[sedimentary basin]] that hosts [[petroleum reserve|hydrocarbon reserves]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.raco.cat/index.php/GeologicaActa/article/view/83442/108425 |first1=M. |last1=Menichetti |first2=E. |last2=Lodolo |first3=A. |last3=Tassone |title=Structural geology of the Fuegian Andes and Magallanes fold-and-thrust belt – Tierra del Fuego Island |journal=[[Geologica Acta]] |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=March 2008 |access-date=20 June 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718174921/http://www.raco.cat/index.php/GeologicaActa/article/view/83442/108425 |archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> [[Orthogneiss]] dated at 525 million years is known to underlie some of the oil wells in northern Tierra del Fuego.<ref>[[Francisco Hervé|Hervé, Francisco]]; Miller, Hubert; Pimpirev Christo. 2003. Patagonia – Antarctica Connections before Gondwana Break-Up in Antarctica Contributions to Global Earth Sciences. Chapter 5.1</ref>

The [[Magallanes–Fagnano Fault]], a [[Sinistral and dextral|sinistral]] [[Strike-slip tectonics|strike slip]] fault crosses the southern part of the main island from west to east. It is an active [[Fault (geology)|fault]], located inside and parallel to the Fuegian [[fold and thrust belt]], and marks the boundary between a southern belt of [[Paleozoic]] [[metamorphic rock|meta]] [[sedimentary rock|sediments]] and a northern [[Mesozoic]] belt of sedimentary sequences. Fagnano Lake occupies a glacier-carved depression in a pull-apart basin that has developed along the Magallanes-Fagnano Fault zone.<ref name="Lod">{{cite journal| last =Lodolo| first =Emanuele |author2=Menichetti, Marco |author3=Bartole, Roberto |author4=Ben-Avraham, Zvi |author-link4=Zvi Ben-Avraham |author5=Tassone, Alejandro |author6=Lippai, Horacio| title =Magallanes-Fagnano continental transform fault (Tierra del Fuego, southernmost South America)| journal =Tectonics| volume =22| issue =6| page =1076| year =2003| doi =10.1029/2003TC001500| bibcode =2003Tecto..22.1076L | doi-access =free}}</ref>

[[Podzol]]s and [[inceptisol]]s occur beneath ''[[Nothofagus betuloides]]'' forests in Tierra del Fuego.<ref name=GerdingThiers>{{Citation
 |last1       = Gerding
 |first1      = Victor
 |last2       = Thiers
 |first2      = Oscar
 |title       = Characterization of soils of Nothofagus betuloides (Mirb) Blume forests, in Tierra del Fuego, Chile
 |journal     = [[Revista Chilena de Historia Natural]]
 |volume      = 75
 |issue       = 4
 |year        = 2002
 |pages       = 819–833
 |language    = es
 |doi = 10.4067/S0716-078X2002000400015
 |doi-access= free
 }}</ref>

=== Climate ===

{{see also|White Earthquake}}
[[File:TDFValley.jpg|thumb|Valley near the [[Beagle Channel]] (2009)]]
The Tierra del Fuego region has a subpolar [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfc'') with short, cool summers and long, wet, moderately mild winters: the precipitation averages {{convert|3000|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} a year in the far west, but precipitation decreases rapidly towards the eastern side. Temperatures are steady throughout the year: in Ushuaia they hardly surpass {{convert|9|°C|°F|sigfig=2}} in summers and average {{convert|0|°C|°F|sigfig=2}} in winters. Snowfall can occur in summer. The cold and wet summers help preserve the ancient [[glacier]]s. The southernmost islands possess a sub-antarctic climate typical of tundra that makes the growth of trees impossible. Some areas in the interior have a polar climate. Regions in the world with similar climates to southern Tierra del Fuego are: the [[Aleutian islands]], [[Iceland]], the [[Alaska Peninsula]], the [[Faroe Islands]], [[Macquarie Island]], and the [[Heard and McDonald Islands]].

=== Flora ===

Only 30% of the islands have forests, which are classified as [[Magellanic subpolar forests|Magellanic subpolar]]. The northeastern portion of the region is made up of steppe and cool semi-desert.

Six species of tree are found in Tierra del Fuego: canelo or winter's bark (''[[Drimys winteri]]''); ''[[Maytenus magellanica]]''; ''[[Pilgerodendron|Pilgerodendron uviferum]]'', the southernmost conifer in the world; and three kinds of [[Nothofagus|southern beech]]: ''[[Nothofagus antarctica]]''; ''[[Nothofagus pumilio]]''; and the evergreen ''[[Nothofagus betuloides]]''. Several kinds of fruit grow in open spaces in these forests, such as [[beach strawberry]] (''Fragaria chiloensis'' var. ''chiloensis'' forma ''chiloensis'') and [[barberry|calafate]] (''Berberis buxifolia''), which have long been gathered by both Native Americans and residents of European descent.<ref>Martínez Crovetto, Raúl. 1968. ''Estudios Etnobotánicos. Nombres de plantas y su utilidad según los indios Onas de Tierra del Fuego'', Revista de la Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria de la Universidad del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina</ref>

They are the only forests in the world to have developed in a climate with such cold summers. Tree cover extends very close to the southernmost tip of South America. Winds are so strong that trees in wind-exposed areas grow into twisted shapes, inspiring people to call them "flag-trees". Tree vegetation extends to the southern tip of the region, [[Isla Hornos]], although the [[Wollaston Islands]] are mostly covered by subantarctic [[tundra]] except in wind sheltered areas where the trees can survive.

<gallery class="center" caption="Flora in Tierra del Fuego" widths="180px">
File:Drimys winteri.jpg|''[[Drimys winteri]]'' flowers
File:Nothofagus antarctica D.jpg|''[[Nothofagus antarctica]]''
File:Nothofagus pumilio.jpg|''[[Nothofagus pumilio]]''
File:Nothofagus betuloides.jpg|''[[Nothofagus betuloides]]''
</gallery>

Forests from Tierra del Fuego have expanded beyond local importance. These forests have been a source of trees that have been transplanted abroad in places with similar climate, but which originally were devoid of trees, such as the [[Faroe Islands]] and nearby archipelagos. Most species were gathered from the coldest places in Tierra del Fuego, mainly sites with tundra borders. This effort resulted in positive changes, as the heavy winds and cool summers in the Faroe Islands did not allow the growth of trees from other regions in the world. The imported trees are used ornamentally, as curtains against wind, and to fight erosion caused by storms and grazing in the Faroe Islands.<ref>Højgaard, A., J. Jóhansen, and S. Ødum (eds) 1989. ''A Century of Tree Planting in the Faroe Islands'', Føroya Frodskaparfelag, Tórshavn.</ref>

=== Fauna ===

{{See also|Beaver eradication in Tierra del Fuego}}
[[File:IslaLosLobos.jpg|thumb|[[Sea lion]]s at Isla de los Lobos in the Beagle Channel, near [[Ushuaia]] (2006)]]

Among the most notable animals in the archipelago are [[austral parakeet]]s, [[gull]]s, [[guanaco]]s,<ref>{{cite report | author=IUCN | title=Lama guanicoe: Baldi, R.B., Acebes, P., Cuéllar, E., Funes, M., Hoces, D., Puig, S. & Franklin, W.L.: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T11186A18540211 | date=2016-02-03 | doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-1.rlts.t11186a18540211.en | doi-access=free}}</ref> [[South American fox]]es, [[kingfisher]]s, [[Andean condor]]s, [[king penguin]]s, [[owl]]s, and [[Green-backed firecrown|firecrown hummingbirds]].<ref>{{cite report | author=IUCN | title=Sephanoides sephaniodes: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22687857A93172170 | date=2016-10-01 | doi=10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t22687857a93172170.en | doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]] is also home to the lizard with the world's southernmost distribution, ''[[Liolaemus magellanicus]]''.<ref name="JaksicRChHN">{{Cite journal |title=Historical account and current ecological knowledge of the southernmost lizard in the world, Liolaemus magellanicus (Squamata: Liolaemidae) |journal=[[Revista Chilena de Historia Natural]] |last=Jaksic |first=Fabian M. |issue=7 |volume=95 |doi=10.1186/s40693-022-00112-y |year=2022|s2cid=252717680 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022RvCHN..95....7J |url=http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/rchnat/v95/0717-6317-rchnat-95-7.pdf }}</ref>

[[North American beaver]]s, introduced during the 1940s, have proliferated and caused considerable damage to the island forests. The governments have established a wide-reaching program to trap and kill beavers in Tierra del Fuego.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news | last=Strieker | first=Gary | title=Argentina eager to rid island of beavers | publisher=Cable News Network | url=http://edition.cnn.com/NATURE/9907/09/argentina.beaver/ | date=9 July 1999 | access-date=30 June 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303154706/http://edition.cnn.com/NATURE/9907/09/argentina.beaver/ | archive-date=3 March 2008}}</ref>

Like the mainland of Chile and Argentina to the north, this archipelago boasts some of the finest [[trout]] fishing in the world. Sea-run brown trout often exceed {{convert|9|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}, particularly in rivers such as the Rio Grande and the San Pablo, and in the [[Lago Fagnano]]. 

Waters adjacent to Tierra del Fuego are very rich in [[cetacea]]n diversity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iwc.int/private/downloads/n-DEQOXouNkf8O248AmRQg/Argentina53.doc|title=ARGENTINA. PROGRESS REPORT ON CETACEAN RESEARCH, JUNE 2000 TO JUNE 2001|first=Adrian|last=Schiavini|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710101422/https://iwc.int/private/downloads/n-DEQOXouNkf8O248AmRQg/Argentina53.doc|archive-date=10 July 2019}}</ref> Sightings of [[southern right whale]]s in Tierra del Fuego have increased in the 2000s,<ref>{{cite web |title=Hoy en Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego (ballena) |date=18 April 2009 |url=http://www.taringa.net/posts/imagenes/2453994/Hoy-en-Rio-Grande-Tierra-del-Fuego-ballena.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505232019/http://www.taringa.net/posts/imagenes/2453994/Hoy-en-Rio-Grande-Tierra-del-Fuego-ballena.html |archive-date=5 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1=R. Natalie P. |last1=Goodall |last2=Benegas |first2=G. L. |last3=Dellabianca |first3=N. |last4=Riccialdelli |first4=L. |last5=Pimper |first5=E. L. |date=17 January 2014 |title=The Presence of Southern Right Whales off Eastern Tierra del Fuego, 1987–2011 |url=http://iwcoffice.co.uk/_documents/sci_com/workshops/SRW/S11-RW30.pdf |access-date=2014-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505213903/http://iwcoffice.co.uk/_documents/sci_com/workshops/SRW/S11-RW30.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2014 }}</ref> [[Humpback whale|humpbacks]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Whale Watching in the Southern Cone – Argentina |url=http://www.sconewhales.co.uk/argentina.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531084614/http://sconewhales.co.uk/argentina.html |archive-date=31 May 2014|access-date=5 May 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Whale Watching in the Southern Cone – Gallery |url=http://www.sconewhales.co.uk/gallery.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531085244/http://sconewhales.co.uk/gallery.html |archive-date=31 May 2014|access-date=5 May 2014 }}</ref> and some others such as [[blue whale]]s,<ref>{{cite web |title=Blue Whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') on Tierra del Fuego Check List |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/listed_taxa/1314922 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917220152/http://www.inaturalist.org/listed_taxa/1314922 |archive-date=17 September 2016}}</ref> [[Fin whale|southern fins]], [[Sei whale|southern seis]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Minke Whale (Sei Whale?) |date=9 December 2011 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/gauchocat/6529053177/in/photostream/ |via=[[Flickr]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624062956/https://www.flickr.com/photos/gauchocat/6529053177/in/photostream/ |archive-date=24 June 2016}}</ref> and [[Southern minke whale|southern minkes]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Minke Whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') on Tierra del Fuego Check List |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/listed_taxa/1314921 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013930/https://www.inaturalist.org/listed_taxa/1314921 |archive-date=4 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Record of a dwarf minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') in northern Brazil |url=http://www.car-spaw-rac.org/IMG/pdf/Record_of_a_dwarf_minke_whale_Balaenoptera_acutorostrata_in_northern_Brazil.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505233922/http://www.car-spaw-rac.org/IMG/pdf/Record_of_a_dwarf_minke_whale_Balaenoptera_acutorostrata_in_northern_Brazil.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2014}}</ref> Beagle Channel is a prominent area to watch rare, endemic dolphins,<ref>{{cite web |title=Scotia Sea: Part 5. The Great Marine Mammals |url=http://www.vulkaner.no/n/vlad/escotia5.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505232039/http://www.vulkaner.no/n/vlad/escotia5.html |archive-date=5 May 2014|access-date=5 May 2014 }}</ref> and the less-studied [[pygmy right whale]]s.

[[Pinniped]]s inhabiting the areas include [[South American sea lion]]s (''Otaria flavescens''),<ref>{{cite web |title=Sailing to the Sea Lions and Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse in Catamarans |url=http://www.piratour.net/en/excursiones/ver/48-sailing-to-the-sea-lions-and-les-eclaireurs-lighthouse-in-catamarans.html |archive-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120155937/http://www.piratour.net/en/excursiones/ver/48-sailing-to-the-sea-lions-and-les-eclaireurs-lighthouse-in-catamarans.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Southern Sea Lions: Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |date=25 September 2011 |url=http://www.ontfin.com/Word/southern-sea-lions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505231204/http://www.ontfin.com/Word/southern-sea-lions/ |archive-date=5 May 2014}}</ref> [[South American fur seal]]s (''Arctophoca australis''),<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark Horrell: Tierra del Fuego |date=28 February 2003 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/markhorrell/sets/72157651610126570/ |via=[[Flickr]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104113614/https://www.flickr.com/photos/markhorrell/sets/72157651610126570/ |archive-date=4 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ballenas en el Canal de Beagle |url=http://www.latdf.com.ar/2012/03/ballenas-en-el-canal-de-beagle.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505232401/http://www.latdf.com.ar/2012/03/ballenas-en-el-canal-de-beagle.html |archive-date=5 May 2014}}</ref> the carnivorous and seal-eating [[leopard seal]]s (''Hydrurga leptonyx''),<ref>{{cite web |title=Ushuaia Photo: leopard seal |url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g312855-i19201023-Ushuaia_Province_of_Tierra_del_Fuego_Patagonia.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920011111/https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g312855-i19201023-Ushuaia_Province_of_Tierra_del_Fuego_Patagonia.html |archive-date=20 September 2016}}</ref> and gigantic [[southern elephant seal]]s (''Mirounga leonine'')<ref>{{cite web |title=Expedition Uncovers Wildlife Wonders at Tierra del Fuego |date=25 February 2011 |url=http://www.wcs.org/news-and-features-main/admiralty-sound.aspx |archive-date=9 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709101440/http://www.wcs.org/news-and-features-main/admiralty-sound.aspx }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cruceros Australis – Fjords of Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia & Cape Horn, Punta Arenas – Ushuaia – Punta Arenas |url=http://www.aonikenk.com/cruises-boats-ferries/cruceros-australis/fjords-of-tierra-del-fuego-patagonia-cape-horn/expedition-cruise-ship-beagle-channel-strait-of-magellan-fjords-punta-arenas-ushuaia-punta-arenas-mv-via-australis-mv-stella-australis |archive-date=5 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505233043/http://www.aonikenk.com/cruises-boats-ferries/cruceros-australis/fjords-of-tierra-del-fuego-patagonia-cape-horn/expedition-cruise-ship-beagle-channel-strait-of-magellan-fjords-punta-arenas-ushuaia-punta-arenas-mv-via-australis-mv-stella-australis }}</ref>{{snd}}the largest extant [[marine mammal]] that is not a [[cetaceans|cetacean]].

=== Islands ===

The following table lists islands over 1 {{km2}}. Area figures are from the USGS unless otherwise specified.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/gie/gie.shtml |title = Global Island Explorer |website = rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov |access-date = 14 Nov 2024}}</ref>

{{sticky header}}{{table alignment}}{{static row numbers}}{{sort under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header static-row-numbers sort-under col2right"
! Island !! Area{{br}}({{km2}}) !! Group
|-
| [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Isla Grande]] || 47,369.9 || main island
|-
| [[Hoste Island]] || 4,261.4 || 
|-
| [[Santa Inés Island]] || 2,734.5 || 
|-
| [[Navarino Island]] || 2,519.7 || 
|-
| [[Dawson Island]] || 1,523.1 || 
|-
| [[Desolación Island]] || 1,367.0 || 
|-
| [[Aracena Island]] || 1,291.8 || 
|-
| [[Clarence Island, Chile|Clarence Island]] || 1,165.2 || 
|-
| [[Londonderry Island]] || 631.5 || 
|-
| [[Gordon Island]] || 618.1 || 
|-
| [[Isla de los Estados]] || 485.0 || 
|-
| Guardián Brito Island || 218.9 || 
|-
| Wollaston Island || 214.4 || [[Wollaston Islands]]
|-
| Lennox Island || 148.0 || [[Picton, Lennox and Nueva]]
|-
| O'Brien Island || 142.0 || 
|-
| Hermite Island || 137.6 || [[Hermite Islands]]
|-
| Nueva Island || 110.9 || Picton, Lennox and Nueva
|-
| Picton Island || 88.1 || Picton, Lennox and Nueva
|-
| Hevia Island || 79.5 || 
|-
| Carlos III Island || 69.7 || 
|-
| Recalada Island || 69.4 || 
|-
| [[Cook Island, Tierra del Fuego|Cook Island]] || 68.9 || 
|-
| Grevy Island || 65.3 || Wollaston Islands
|-
| [[Herschel Island (Chile)|Herschel Island]] || 62.4 || Hermite Islands
|-
| Bayly Island || 43.8 || Wollaston Islands
|-
| Deceit Island || 36.9 || Hermite Islands
|-
| [[Hornos Island]] || 24.5 || Hermite Islands
|-
| [[Gable Island]] || 21.7 || 
|-
| Freycinet Island || 18.2 || Wollaston Islands
|-
| Adriana Island || 18.2 || Wollaston Islands
|-
| Jerdan Island || 4.9 || Hermite Islands
|-
| Hall Island || 2.6 || Hermite Islands
|-
| Barnevelt Island || 1.6 || 
|-
| Maxwell Island || 1.4 || Hermite Islands
|-
| Evout Island || 1.3 || 
|-
| Middle Island || 1.2 || Wollaston Islands
|-
| Otarie Island || 1.0 || Wollaston Islands
|}

== Economy ==
Today, the main economic activities of the archipelago are fishing, extraction of natural gas and [[Petroleum|oil]], [[domestic sheep|sheep]] [[agriculture|farming]], and [[ecotourism]]. Tourism is gaining increasing importance as it attracts numerous upmarket visitors. Much of the tourism is based on "southernmost" claims: for example, both [[Ushuaia]] and [[Puerto Williams]] claim to be the "southernmost city in the world". On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego, the government has promoted the establishment of several [[Electronic company|electronic companies]] via tax exemptions, particularly in the city of [[Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego|Río Grande]].

Energy production is a crucial economic activity. On the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego during the period 2005–2010, petroleum and natural gas extraction contributed 20% of the region's economic output.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indec.gov.ar |title=Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070406222046/http://www.indec.gov.ar/ |archive-date=6 April 2007|access-date=28 April 2018 }}</ref>

== Cultural depictions ==
* [[Alexander Buchan (artist)|Alexander Buchan]] participated in the 1768–1771 [[first voyage of James Cook]] aboard {{HMS|Endeavour}}, where he was one of the artists in the entourage of botanist [[Joseph Banks]]. ''Endeavour'' lay at anchor in the [[Bahia Buen Suceso|Bay of Good Success]] on 15 January 1769. He took part in an expedition which started from here.
* As a ship painter, [[Conrad Martens]] drew and created watercolour paintings in 1833 and 1834 during the [[second voyage of HMS Beagle|second voyage of HMS ''Beagle'']] in Tierra del Fuego.<ref>[[Richard Keynes]]: ''The Beagle Record: Selections from the Original Pictorial Records and Written Accounts of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle'', 1979, CUP Archives {{ISBN|0-521-21822-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D1K22Rbc20  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/8D1K22Rbc20| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=A Voyage of Sketches: The Art of Conrad Martens |date=2014|publisher=Cambridge Digital Library |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* The French painter and lithographer [[Évremond de Bérard]] illustrated the travel journal "[[Le Tour du Monde]]" with Tierra del Fuego motifs in 1861.
* [[Rockwell Kent]] painted "more than twenty large pictures of Tierra del Fuego" during his stay there in 1922 and 1923, as he reported in his autobiography ''It's Me O Lord: The Autobiography of Rockwell Kent''.
* The German painter [[Ingo Kühl]] travelled three times to Tierra del Fuego, where he created paintings in a cycle entitled ''Landscapes of the End of the World'' (2005).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D994116454|title=Landschaften am Ende der Welt / Paisages del fin del mundo / mit einem Text von / con un texto de Antonio Skármeta|first=Ingo|last=Kühl|date=2006|publisher=I. Kühl|via=Deutsche Nationalbibliothek|access-date=16 April 2022|archive-date=11 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311133535/https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D994116454|url-status=live}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" widths="180px">
File:Endeavour off the Coast of Tierra del Fuego.jpg|[[Alexander Buchan (artist)|Alexander Buchan]] ''HMS Endeavour on 12 January 1769, off the coast of Tierra del Fuego''
File:Inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego Alexander Buchan BL Add MS 23920.jpg|Alexander Buchan ''Inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego'', 1769 
File: HMS Beagle by Conrad Martens.jpg | [[Conrad Martens]] ''HMS Beagle in Tierra del Fuego'', between 1832 and 1836
File:Le Tour du monde-03-p232.jpg| [[Évremond de Bérard]] ''Tierra del Fuego, [[Monte Sarmiento]] seen from Froward Cape'', 1861
File: Ingo Kühl "Gletscher (Beagle Kanal)" 2005.jpg |[[Ingo Kühl]] ''Glacier (Beagle Channel)'', 2005 painted in [[Punta Arenas]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Alberto de Agostini National Park]]
* [[Beagle conflict]]
* [[Beaver eradication in Tierra del Fuego]]
* [[Mamihlapinatapai]]
* ''[[The Voyage of the Beagle]]''
* [[Tierra del Fuego National Park]]
* [[Yahgan language]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== 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 (ship)|Beagle]]'', 1832–1836''. [[HarperCollins]] Publishers, London. Reprint: 2003.
* Bollen, Patrick. 2000. "Tierra del Fuego" B/W Photobook. Lannoo Publishers, Tielt, Belgium. {{ISBN|90-209-4040-6}}
*{{cite journal |last=Pisano Valdés |first=E.|author-link=Edmundo Pisano |date=1977|title=Fitogeografía de Fuego-Patagonia chilena. I.-Comunidades vegetales entre las latitudes 52 y 56º S|location=[[Punta Arenas]] |journal=[[Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia]]|volume=VIII |ref=Pisano1977|language=es}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category|Tierra del Fuego}}
* [https://findelmundo.tur.ar/es Official website of Argentine Tierra del Fuego]
* [http://www.chileculture.org/tierra-del-fuego/ Chile Cultural Society – Tierra del Fuego]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Tierra del Fuego}}

{{authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tierra Del Fuego}}
[[Category:Tierra del Fuego| ]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of Argentina]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of Chile]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Islands of Magallanes Region]]
[[Category:Landforms of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina]]
[[Category:Patagonia]]
[[Category:Natural regions of South America]]
[[Category:Regions of Argentina]]
[[Category:Regions of Chile]]
[[Category:Regions of South America]]