Puerto Toro is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on the eastern coast of

Navarino Island Navarino Island () is a large Chilean island, with an area of and a coastline of . It is located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Communes of Chile, Commune of Cabo ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Puerto Toro was founded in 1892 during the

Tierra del Fuego Gold Rush Between 1883 and 1906 Tierra del Fuego experienced a gold rush attracting many Chileans, Argentines and Europeans to the archipelago, including many Dalmatians. The gold rush led to the formation of the first towns in the archipelago and fuele ...

by Governor of

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

Señoret.Bascopé Julio, Joaquín
SENTIDOS COLONIALES I. EL ORO Y LA VIDA SALVAJE EN TIERRA DEL FUEGO, 1880 -1914
''

Magallania ''Magallania'' is an academic journal published by the University of Magallanes. It focuses on articles in the fields of social sciences and humanities related to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's sout ...

'' It belongs to the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, in

Antártica Chilena Province Antártica Chilena Province () is the southernmost of the four Provinces of Chile, provinces in Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region (XII). The capital is Puerto Williams. The province comprises ...

of Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region. Excluding research stations in Antarctica, Puerto Toro is the southernmost permanently inhabited community on the globe, and some 3,900 km (2425 miles) from the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

. It is the only such community on Earth that is situated below the

55th parallel south Following are circles of latitude between the 50th parallel south and the 55th parallel south. These circles of latitude generally pass through Chile and Argentina, and through minor outlying islands in Oceania. 51st parallel south The 51st para ...

. Puerto Toro is inhabited by 36 people according t
INE
s 2002 census, including fishermen and their families. According to the classification of the seas of the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

it is the only Chilean locality (and port) with coasts and waters belonging to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, defining as the limit the meridian of

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) 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 is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

(67°16′ W) from

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

to the Antarctic continent. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, Puerto Toro was one of the most important towns in the region of the

Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan language, Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of I ...

as a result of the

Tierra del Fuego gold rush Between 1883 and 1906 Tierra del Fuego experienced a gold rush attracting many Chileans, Argentines and Europeans to the archipelago, including many Dalmatians. The gold rush led to the formation of the first towns in the archipelago and fuele ...

. Once interest in exploring for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

passed, however, Puerto Toro's importance diminished. Today, Puerto Toro is known for "

centolla ''Lithodes santolla'', also known as the southern king crab, Chilean king crab or ''centolla'', is a species of king crab, found off southern South America including the offshore Falkland Islands. On the Pacific side, it is found in Chile from T ...

", the prized southern king crab. In relation to tourism, the settlement is part of the

End of the World Route End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

, a

scenic route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist drive, scenic byway, or holiday road is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints. The designation is usually de ...

that highlights it as a southern point of the country.

Climate

Puerto Toro is considered to be a

sub-Antarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region inc ...

tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...

in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, despite the fact that it is surrounded by forests. However, it still has very mild winters for a

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

climate and if it had a daily mean in any month more than 50 F (10 C), it would be a ''Cfc'' (subpolar oceanic) or a cold semidesert (it has less than 20 in of rain a year) climate, not a ''Dfc'' (subpolar in general) climate.

References

External links

Comuna de Cabo de Hornos / Commune of Cabo de Hornos official websiteOfficial website of Puerto Williams
Cities and towns in Tierra del Fuego Ports and harbours of Chile Hamlets in Chile Populated places in Antártica Chilena Navarino Island Populated places in the fjords and channels of Chile {{MagellanAntarctic-geo-stub

Climate

See also

References

External links