Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is the name given to the archipelago that lies at the extreme south of the South American continent. It is situated at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is bounded to the north by the Strait of Magellan, which separates it from Patagonia, and on the south by the Drake Passage, which separates the islands from the Antarctic continent.

The archipelago is made of several thousand islands, most of them highly divided and with numerous fjords, covering a total area of ​​approx. 70,000 sqkm. The main island, the large island of Tierra del Fuego, measures 48,100 sqkm. It is crossed to the south and west by the Darwin mountain range, which culminates at Mount Shipton at 2,469 metres above sea level, and is part of the Andes mountain range. On its Atlantic facade, the island consists of a large plain.

Among the animals that inhabit Tierra del Fuego, one can mention different species of nocturnal raptors, black-browed albatross, seagulls, kingfishers, king penguins, Austral parakeets, hummingbirds from Chile, and condors, as well as foxes, guanacos and beavers.