Tierra del Fuego National Park is located on the Argentine part of the island of Tierra del Fuego. Its 630 square kilometres include parts of the Fagnano and Roca lakes. The park has dramatic scenery, with waterfalls, forests, mountains and glaciers. 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 (18,572 sq mi), and a group of smaller islands. The main island is separated between two countries: 18,507.3 square kilometres (38,57% of total) belongs to Argentina, while 29,484.7 square kilometres (61,43% of total) belongs to Chile. Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chilean towns are Porvenir, capital of the Chilean Province of Tierra del Fuego, on the main island, and Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island, being the capital of the Antártica Chilena Province. Puerto Toro lies a few kilometers south of Puerto Williams and is the southernmost village in the world. The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, being part of the Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic Territory and South Atlantic Islands Province; its capital is Ushuaia, the biggest city of the archipelago. The other important city in the region is Río Grande on the Atlantic coast. The Darwin Range ends in the Mount Bove; this range contains many glaciers that reach the ocean. Mount Darwin is the highest peak at 2,488 metres (8,163 ft).
Earliest human settlement occurred more than 10,000 years ago. The Yaghan people were some of the earliest known humans settling in Tierra del Fuego, with certain recognizable archeological sites at locations such as Navarino Island within the islands of Tierra del Fuego. The name Tierra del Fuego derives from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for the Spanish Crown, who was the first European to visit these lands 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. These were fires lit by the Yaghan Indians who lived in the southern part of the island, to ward off the low temperatures in the area. Originally called the "Land of Smoke," it was later changed to the more exciting "Land of Fire." Four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button" (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert FitzRoy on his first voyage with the HMS 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. According to the Boundary treaty of 1881 Tierra del Fuego was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously it was claimed by both countries in its entirety. The climate in this region is very inhospitable. It is a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfc) with short, cool summers and long, wet, moderate winters: the northeast is characterized by strong winds and little precipitation, in the south and west it is very windy, foggy, and wet for most of the year, and there are very few days without rain, slush, hail or snow. The permanent snow-line begins at 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. Isla de los Estados, 230 km (143 mi) east of Ushuaia, receives 1,400 mm (55 in) of rain. Rainfall is heavier in the west, 3,000 mm (118 in) a year. Temperatures are steady throughout the year.
In this area the final part of the Andes features a northwest - southeast orientation. The peaks alternate with valleys where there are rivers and glacial originated lakes. Two types of forests predominate here: those of Lenga and Guindo trees, with an open underwood mainly consisting of moss and fern. In the spaces within the forests there is plenty of peat in very humid, flooded areas where the sphagnum moss grows. On the sea shore, the two great bays (Lapataia and Ensenada) deploy in gorges and beaches that are full of white cauquenes. There are also black eyebrowed albatross (over two meters long) who cohabit with the steam duck and the diving petrel. There is also a rare kind of otter named chungungo. Other species are the guanaco and a particular Tierra del Fuego variety of red fox. The Canadian beaver, an introduced species, has caused a great environmental impact because it cuts down trees in order to build dams which, in turn, provoke floods in certain parts of the forest where the trees also die as a consequence of the excess of water. Tierra del Fuego is a place of extremes: the world's southernmost national park accessible from the world's southernmost city (Ushuaia). Tierra del Fuego is Argentina's only coastal national park, and water is a prime attraction: fishing, kayaking, maritime wildlife, stunning fjords, transcendent seascapes. The parks 240 square miles are completely contained in the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego island, but the eastern edge of the park is the Chilean border, and with the right papers, it's possible to cross over into Chile by either land or water.
Earliest human settlement occurred more than 10,000 years ago. The Yaghan people were some of the earliest known humans settling in Tierra del Fuego, with certain recognizable archeological sites at locations such as Navarino Island within the islands of Tierra del Fuego. The name Tierra del Fuego derives from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for the Spanish Crown, who was the first European to visit these lands 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. These were fires lit by the Yaghan Indians who lived in the southern part of the island, to ward off the low temperatures in the area. Originally called the "Land of Smoke," it was later changed to the more exciting "Land of Fire." Four native Fuegians, including "Jemmy Button" (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert FitzRoy on his first voyage with the HMS 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. According to the Boundary treaty of 1881 Tierra del Fuego was divided between Argentina and Chile; previously it was claimed by both countries in its entirety. The climate in this region is very inhospitable. It is a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfc) with short, cool summers and long, wet, moderate winters: the northeast is characterized by strong winds and little precipitation, in the south and west it is very windy, foggy, and wet for most of the year, and there are very few days without rain, slush, hail or snow. The permanent snow-line begins at 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. Isla de los Estados, 230 km (143 mi) east of Ushuaia, receives 1,400 mm (55 in) of rain. Rainfall is heavier in the west, 3,000 mm (118 in) a year. Temperatures are steady throughout the year.
In this area the final part of the Andes features a northwest - southeast orientation. The peaks alternate with valleys where there are rivers and glacial originated lakes. Two types of forests predominate here: those of Lenga and Guindo trees, with an open underwood mainly consisting of moss and fern. In the spaces within the forests there is plenty of peat in very humid, flooded areas where the sphagnum moss grows. On the sea shore, the two great bays (Lapataia and Ensenada) deploy in gorges and beaches that are full of white cauquenes. There are also black eyebrowed albatross (over two meters long) who cohabit with the steam duck and the diving petrel. There is also a rare kind of otter named chungungo. Other species are the guanaco and a particular Tierra del Fuego variety of red fox. The Canadian beaver, an introduced species, has caused a great environmental impact because it cuts down trees in order to build dams which, in turn, provoke floods in certain parts of the forest where the trees also die as a consequence of the excess of water. Tierra del Fuego is a place of extremes: the world's southernmost national park accessible from the world's southernmost city (Ushuaia). Tierra del Fuego is Argentina's only coastal national park, and water is a prime attraction: fishing, kayaking, maritime wildlife, stunning fjords, transcendent seascapes. The parks 240 square miles are completely contained in the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego island, but the eastern edge of the park is the Chilean border, and with the right papers, it's possible to cross over into Chile by either land or water.
