Tierra Del Fuego

Ushuaia harbour

Tierra del Fuego, provincia (province), far southern Argentina. It consists of the eastern half of the triangular island of Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: “Land of Fire”)—the other half is part of Chile—lying between the Strait of Magellan (north) and Beagle Channel (south) at the southern extremity of South America. Ushuaia, the provincial capital, is located on the Beagle Channel and is the southernmost city in the world.

Argentina also claims as part of the province a number of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean and a portion of the Antarctic continent representing some 1 million square miles (2.6 million square km). Excluding those claims, the province can be described as comprising three well-defined zones. The first is a central mountain region whose highest peak is Cornú (4,888 feet [1,490 metres]), with a windy, narrow, structural valley running east-west that is marked by Lake Fagnano in the Argentine sector and that continues as Almirantazgo Bay in the Chilean sector; that region has abundant vegetation. Below the mountains is a plateau and terrace region north of Lake Fagnano with excellent grazing ground for sheep and cattle. Finally, there is a plains region along the northeastern coast near the city of Río Grande, with open woodland covering the nearby mountain slopes.

There is little agriculture on the island, but oil and gas reserves have been developed. Many textile and electronic firms have been established at Río Grande and Ushuaia, the island’s two main cities. Fishing activity centres on spider crabs and mussels and other mollusks, which are canned and exported. Krill, tiny shrimplike creatures suggested as a potential source of food for humans, are extremely abundant in adjoining ocean waters but are not yet exploited. Two popular points of interest in Tierra del Fuego are the National Park Reserve and the United States scientific research vessel Hero, whose home port is Beagle Channel. Area (excluding Atlantic Ocean island and Antarctic claims) 8,329 square miles (21,571 square km). Pop. (2001) 101,079; (2010) 127,205.