Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. In 1881 it was divided between Argentina and Chile. The archipelago consists of a main island (Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, often called Tierra del Fuego as well), and a group of smaller islands. It is separated from the continent by the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago, in Chile, forms Cape Horn.
The main industries are oil, natural gas, sheep farming and ecotourism. The largest island is Tierra del Fuego, or Isla Grande, with an area of 48,100 km². Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes Region of Chile, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chilean towns are Porvenir, in the main island, and Puerto Williams, in the Navarino Island It is the most southerly town on the planet, unless you count Antartic stations.
The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, forming the federal district of Tierra del Fuego; its capital, Ushuaia, is the Argentina's most southerly city, the other important town being Rio Grande, near the Atlantic coast.
Its name comes from the many fires (fuego in Spanish) of the Amerindians, which were visible from the sea. It was named by Ferdinand Magellan, who was the first European to pass it in 1520.
Tierra del Fuego is the name of a 2000 movie by Chilean filmmaker Miguel LittÃn, starring Ornella Muti and Jorge PerugorrÃa.
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