Tierra del Fuego Province () is one of four

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

in the southern

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena (XII). It includes the Chilean or western part of the main island of Tierra del Fuego, except for the part south of the

Cordillera Darwin The Cordillera Darwin is an extensive mountain range mantled by an ice field that is located in Chile. Description Cordillera Darwin is located in the southwestern portion of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, entirely within the Chilean territor ...

, which is in Antártica Chilena Province. Chilean Tierra del Fuego has two towns,

Porvenir El Porvenir or Porvenir (Spanish language, Spanish: "The Future") may refer to: Places *Porvenir Municipality, Bolivia *Porvenir, Pando, Bolivia *Porvenir, Chile *Porvenir Volcano, Costa Rica *Porvenir, Texas, United States *El Porvenir Parish, Pa ...

, capital of the province, and Cerro Sombrero, and a number of small villages. A key geographical feature is Bahía Inútil ("Useless Bay"), so named by British geographers in the late 19th century because the bay is not useful as a port.

Geology and hydrography

Gold-bearing sands have been recorded at a number of sites within the Fuegan shores of the Tierra del Fuego Province. Chilean Tierra del Fuego is known for numerous small lakes, including Lago Blanco and Lago Deseado. The climate is Subpolar Oceanic, bordering on a

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 ...

Demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (''INE''), the province spans an area of and had a population of 6,904 inhabitants (4,418 men and 2,486 women), giving it a population density of . It is the third most sparsely populated province in the country after Antártica Chilena and Capitan Prat, and it is the fifth least-populated province in the country. Of these, 4,734 (68.6%) lived in urban areas and 2,170 (31.4%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population fell by 1.2% (81 persons).

History

The shores among the islands have provided settlement locations for thousands of years of early humans in the Americas. In particular, the Wulaia Bay area 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 ...

(south of the province) has yielded evidence of settlement by the Yaghan people more than 10,000 years ago.C. Michael Hogan, 2008 A

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

occurred in the late 19th and early 20th century.

References

* C. Michael Hogan (2008
"Bahia Wulaia Dome Middens"
The Megalithic Portal'', ed. Andy Burnham * J. Rabassa (2008) ''The Late Cenozoic of Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego'', Elsevier, 524 pages {{DEFAULTSORT:Tierra Del Fuego Province, Chile Provinces of Chile Provinces of Magallanes Region

Geology and hydrography

Demography

History

See also

References