Antártica is a Chilean commune in Antártica Chilena Province,

Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

, which covers all the

Chilean Antarctic Territory The Chilean Antarctic Territory or Chilean Antarctica (Spanish: ''Territorio Chileno Antártico'', ''Antártica Chilena'') is the territory in Antarctica claimed by Chile. The Chilean Antarctic Territory ranges from 53° West to 90° West and f ...

(the territory in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

claimed by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

). It ranges from 53°W to 90°W and from the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

to 60°S, overlapping the Argentine and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Antarctic claims, and is the largest and least populated commune in Chile, being over 25 times the size of the next largest commune,

Natales Natales ( Spanish for "births") is a commune of the Última Esperanza Province in the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region of extreme southern Chile. Its capital and only port city is Puerto Natales. Geography The commune's area spans , mak ...

. It is administered by the

Cabo de Hornos Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

municipality in the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

n mainland. Antártica was created on July 11, 1961, and was dependent on the

Magallanes Province Magallanes Province ( es, Provincia de Magallanes) is one of four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena. The provincial capital is the city of Punta Arenas. Geography and demography Its eastern portion is l ...

until 1975, when the Antártica Chilena Province was created, making it dependent administratively on

Puerto Williams Puerto Williams (; Spanish for "Port Williams") is the 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 An ...

, the province capital.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Antártica spans an area of and has 130 inhabitants (115 men and 15 women), making the commune an entirely

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...

. The population fell by 11.5% (15 people) between the 2002 and 2012 censuses. This does not include the staff of non-Chilean bases in the area.

Census districts

The commune consists of two census districts: *Piloto Pardo (pop. 114), consisting of the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

and named after Luis Pardo, with the only civil settlement,

Villa Las Estrellas Villa Las Estrellas (English: "The Stars Village") is a Chilean town and research station on King George Island within the Chilean Antarctic claim, the Chilean Antarctic Territory, and also within the Argentine and British Antarctic claims. ...

. *Tierra de O'Higgins (the Antarctic mainland) (pop. 16), with communal capital Puerto Covadonga ( O'Higgins Station).

Administration

The commune is governed from

in the Cabo de Hornos commune from its municipal office located at O'Higgins 165. Chilean law allows a municipality to govern more than one commune, however, this is the only such case. As a commune, Antártica is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2016-2020 alcalde is Patricio Fernández (DC). The communal council has the following members: Daniel Fernando Valdebenito Contreras (PS) Ángela Barría Barrientos (RN) Juan Velásquez (PS) Carolina Guenel González (DC) Francis Delgado Ibaceta (RN) Paola Speake Ojeda (DC) Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Antártica is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Juan Morano ( PDC) and

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president o ...

( Ind.) as part of the 60th electoral district, which includes the entire

. The commune is represented in the Senate by Carlos Bianchi Chelech (Ind.) and Carolina Goic ( PDC) as part of the 19th senatorial constituency (Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antartica (Commune) Communes of Chile Populated places in Antártica Chilena 1961 establishments in Chile

Demographics

Census districts

Administration

See also

References