Tierra del Fuego - the southern tip of the world Bashny.Net

Tierra del Fuego (Spanish. Tierra del Fuego) - an archipelago at the southern end of South America, which includes about 40 thousand islands. Tierra del Fuego is separated from the Strait of Magellan land, and from Antarctica - Drake Passage. The largest islands - the main island, Ost and Navarino shares Beagle Channel.

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One time ogen Earth was considered the northern part of the Unknown Southern Land. Was known to Magellan, but received its name after his voyage. Locals lit bonfires at night, but Magellan decided it lights of volcanic origin, and called the uncharted territory of Tierra Earth.

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The total area of the archipelago - 72,520 square kilometers, of which 70% belongs to Chile, and the rest - Argentina.

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On the main island is the southernmost city of the world - Ushuaia, and on the island of Navarino - the southernmost locality of the Earth - Puerto Toro.

In the photo - Ushuaia

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In winter, severe storms, scolding chilling, snowy winds Antarctic seas, plagued by dismal shore at the southern tip of South America. Summer air on the coast of warm and soft, but the sudden squalls are terrible reminder that Tierra del Fuego is located very close to the wild coast of Antarctica.

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Tierra del Fuego is part of the "hook" at the end of the South American continent - a strip of land stretching to the endless ice deserts of Antarctica, lying less than 1000 km. Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula once formed a single plot of land, but the continents began to break 25 million years ago. The proximity of structures and rock types to determine the places of their former connection. Fossils also suggest that many animals and plants that existed in South America, and lived in Antarctica.

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Archipelago, constituting Tierra del Fuego, was opened in 1520 by the Portuguese navigator Fernand Magellan (chit.vyshe). In 1578 Sir Francis Drake opened a small group of islands later named by Dutch explorers Cape Horn. A detailed study of Tierra del Fuego was undertaken only in the XIX century, when the British Admiralty sent two expeditions there. The second of these trips were undertaken by Captain Robert Fitzroy on board the "Beagle". Fitzroy wanted to take a naturalist to describe these little-known lands and chose the 22-year-old Charles Darwin.

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December 27, 1831 "Beagle" set sail in Plymouth, going on a journey that was to last almost five years. They reached Tierra del Fuego in December 1832; set foot on the ground, Darwin noticed about the mountains and glaciers: "One can hardly imagine anything more beautiful» ...

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