 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tierra del Fuego Province Provincia de Tierra del Fuego | |
|---|---|
 Porvenir | |
 Seal | |
 Location in the Magallanes Region | |
  Tierra del Fuego Province Location in Chile | |
| Coordinates:53°36′S69°23′W / 53.600°S 69.383°W /-53.600; -69.383 | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Region |  Magallanes y Antártica Chilena |
| Capital | Porvenir |
| Communes | Porvenir Primavera Timaukel |
| Government | |
| • Type | Provincial |
| • Presidential provincial delegate | Karim Fierro Brstilo |
| Area | |
• Total | 22,592.7 km2 (8,723.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2012 Census)[1] | |
• Total | 6,656 |
| • Density | 0.2946/km2 (0.7630/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 4,734 |
| • Rural | 2,170 |
| Sex | |
| • Men | 4,418 |
| • Women | 2,486 |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (CLST[2]) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (CLST[3]) |
| Area code | 56 + 61 |
| Website | Government of Tierra del Fuego |
Tierra del Fuego Province (Spanish:Provincia de Tierra del Fuego) is one of fourprovinces in the southernChileanregion ofMagallanes and Antártica Chilena (XII). It includes the Chilean or western part of themain island of Tierra del Fuego, except for the part south of theCordillera Darwin, which is inAntártica Chilena Province.
Chilean Tierra del Fuego has two towns,Porvenir, capital of the province, andCerro Sombrero, and a number of small villages. A key geographical feature isBahía Inútil ("Useless Bay"), so named by British geographers in the late 19th century because the bay is not useful as a port.[4]
Gold-bearing sands have been recorded at a number of sites within the Fuegan shores of the Tierra del Fuego Province.[5] Chilean Tierra del Fuego is known for numerous small lakes, including Lago Blanco andLago Deseado. The climate isSubpolar Oceanic, bordering on aTundra climate.
According to the 2002 census by theNational Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 22,592.7 km2 (8,723 sq mi)[1] and had a population of 6,904 inhabitants (4,418 men and 2,486 women), giving it a population density of 0.3/km2 (1/sq mi). It is the third most sparsely populated province in the country afterAntártica Chilena andCapitan 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).[1]
The shores among the islands have provided settlement locations for thousands of years of early humans in the Americas. In particular, theWulaia Bay area ofNavarino Island (south of the province) has yielded evidence of settlement by theYaghan people more than 10,000 years ago.[6]
Agold rush occurred in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Communes and municipalities inMagallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Última Esperanza |  | |
| Magallanes | ||
| Tierra del Fuego | ||
| Antártica Chilena | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
