Southernmost settlements
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Southernmost settlements are cities, towns, weather stations or permanent military bases which are further south than latitude 450S. They are closely related to the southern ocean or either the Roaring Forties or Furious Fifties
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[edit] Southernmost city
"The southernmost city in the world" is mainly a slogan used for tourism to attract visitors to the city as well as the tourists headed for Antarctica. Currently three cities or towns use this slogan. There are several more settlements further south but none are considered to be large enough to be classified as a 'City'. These three main candidates are:
Puerto Williams (Spanish for "Port Williams") a Chilean port located on the Isla Navarino facing north on the Beagle Channel. It is the capital of the Antártica Chilena Province, one of four provinces located in the Magellan and Chilean Antartica Region. It has a population of over 2,000 people, mainly naval personnel (Military personnel total 1700[1]) and many of the houses in Puerto Williams belong to the Chilean Navy. Puerto Williams is sometimes considered the southernmost city in the world by Chilean media[2][3], some large media organisations[4][5] and it promotes this slogan in its tourism campaigns. Its main competitor to that title is the Argentine City of Ushuaia located on the opposite, northern side of the Beagle Channel. An argument against Puerto Williams' use of this slogan is the fact that Chile's Department of Statistics classifies a city as any urban entity which has more than 5000 permanent residents so, for the Chilean government, Puerto Williams is a small Town only.[6]
Ushuaia (pronounced [u'swaia] in Spanish, /u'ʃwaia/ in English) the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego is more commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world due to its larger population, 64,000[7][8] , its infrastructure and its widely accepted classification as a city.[9][10][11] This is the basis of its claim to use the slogan of the World's Southernmost City. Ushuaia is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego, or on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel hence it is further north than Puerto Williams.
Punta Arenas (literally in Spanish: "Sandy Point") is the most prominent settlement on the Strait of Magellan and the capital of the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region, Chile. It is much larger than Ushuaia with around 120,000 permanent residents [12] and it is called the southernmost city by some media outlets [13]. The basis of its claim on being the southernmost city rests on it being a larger urban populated center than Ushuaia, Río Grande and Puerto Williams, which are all further south.
Southernmost cities according to different sources:
| Locality | Population | Latitude/longitude | Southernmost city according to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ushuaia, Argentina | 64,000 | 54°48′S 68°18′W / 54.8°S 68.3°W | Britannica Online, New York Times (2004), National Geographic |
| Puerto Williams, Chile | 2 262 | 54°56′S 67°37′W / 54.933°S 67.617°W | Cabo de Hornos municipality, Canal 13 (2005) |
| Punta Arenas, Chile | 130 136 | 53°10′S 70°56′W / 53.167°S 70.933°W | CNN (2001), BBC (2004), New York Times (1987) |
[edit] Cities or towns
This is a list of the southernmost cities and towns in the world.
[edit] List of southernmost settlements
| Location | Latitude | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Estación Naval Islas Diego Ramirez, Chile (Naval station) | 56º30' S | ? |
| Estación Meteorológica de Cabo de Hornos, Chile (Weather station) | 55º59' S | 4[14] |
| Puerto Toro, Chile (Hamlet) | 55º05' S | 36[15] |
| Caleta Wulaia, Chile (Hamlet) | 55°02' S | ? |
| Caleta Eugenia, Chile (Hamlet) | 54°56' S | ? |
| Puerto Williams, Chile (City[i 1]/Town) | 54°56' S | 1,952[15] |
| Puerto Navarino, Chile (Village) | 54º55' S | ? |
| Puerto Almanza, Argentina (Village) | 54º52' S | 200 |
| Ushuaia, Argentina (City) [i 2] | 54º48' S | 64,000[16] |
| Tolhuin, Argentina (Town) | 54º31' S | 1,382[17] |
| Grytviken, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Hamlet) | 54º19' S | up to 18 |
| Río Grande, Argentina (City) | 53º45' S | 55,000 |
| Porvenir, Chile (City) | 53º17' S | 5,465 |
| Punta Arenas, Chile (City) | 53º17' S | 116,005 |
- The former Argentine base Corbeta Uruguay (59º28' S) in South Sandwich Islands was the southernmost settlement outside Antarctica from 1976-1982.
[edit] Settlements on the Antarctic continent
There are many research stations in antarctica both permanent and summer only. A number of governments maintain permanent research stations throughout Antarctica. Many of the stations are staffed around the year.
A total of 30 countries (as of October 2006), all signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, operate seasonal (summer) and year-round research stations on the continent and in its surrounding oceans. In addition to these permanent stations, approximately 30 field camps are established each austral summer to support specific projects.[18]
The full list is available at: List of research stations in Antarctica
[edit] References
- ^ Su población, de aproximadamente 1.700 habitantes, esta compuesta casi en su totalidad, por personal de la Armada y sus familiares.
- ^ Teletrece Internet "Puerto Williams: la ciudad más austral del mundo sigue creciendo" July 17, 2005
- ^ [nadasimple/todosimple]: cero rating in La Nación
- ^ BBC 2004
- ^ Times Online
- ^ Department of Statistics Chile Pag7
- ^ Tiscali Encyclopaedia
- ^ Boston Globe 2008
- ^ "Tierra del Fuego, Argentina". Encarta. http://encarta.msn.com/media_461538660/Tierra_del_Fuego_Argentina.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-11.
- ^ "Ushuaia". Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/620331/Ushuaia. Retrieved on 2009-05-23.
- ^ Boston Globe 2008
- ^ Interactive map, INE Census 2002, Chile. (Click on XII Region and then on Punta Arenas)
- ^ BBC 2004
- ^ Vida al fin del mundo: Una familia chilena haciendo soberanía en Cabo de Hornos
- ^ a b DEMOGRAFÍA
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushuaia,_Argentina
- ^ 2001 census [INDEC]
- ^ 4.0 Antarctica - Past and Present
[edit] Notes
- ^ Puerto Williams is sometimes considered the worlds southernmost city.
- ^ Ushuaia is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world Ref Ushuaia Article
