Ushuaia: The World's Southernmost City
Ushuaia — the southernmost city on Earth at 54°S — sits at the end of the Andes where the mountains meet the Beagle Channel; the gateway to Antarctica, the Tierra del Fuego national park, and the Beagle Channel wildlife make it one of the world's most dramatically positioned cities
- 1
Fin del Mundo — The End of the World
Ushuaia's identity is inseparable from its geographical location at the top of the inhabited world; the "Fin del Mundo" (End of the World) brand permeates everything - the post office (southernmost in the world), the train (world's end train), the restaurants; the emotional impact of being on the southern tip of America is real and profound
- 2
Beagle Channel
The Beagle Channel - the waterway separating Argentina and Chile at the southern tip of South America - was named after HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his 1831-1836 voyage; the channel's wildlife (sea lions on the rocks, Magellanic penguins on nearby islands, albatross above) and its dramatic mountain scenery make it one of the world's great waterways
- 3
Antarctica Gateway
Ushuaia is the world's primary gateway to Antarctica — approximately 90% of all Antarctic cruises depart from or pass through the port; the expedition ships moored in the Beagle Channel, the Antarctic tackle shops and the weathered faces of expedition travelers returning from the White Continent give Ushuaia a unique adventurous atmosphere
- 4
Martial Glacier
The Martial Glacier – visible from Ushuaia above the ski area of Mount Martial – retreats dramatically; the chairlift to Martial Peak offers the finest views of Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel and the Chilean Islands; glacier shrinkage seen in photographs spanning the past 30 years — a literal landscape of climate change
- 5
End of the World Train
Tren del Fin del Mundo – a narrow-gauge steam railway in Tierra del Fuego National Park – follows the route of the prison railway used by the Ushuaia convicts to transport timber; the train ride through the subantarctic forest and Pipo river valley is more atmosphere than distance; the whistling of the engine in the silence of the southern forest is memorable
- 6
Ushuaia Prison
The Presidio de Ushuaia – the prison that was the reason the city was founded (1896) – was Argentina's most remote penal colony; the prison housed criminal and political prisoners; it closed in 1947; the building (now a naval base and museum) housed one of the world's most isolated penal communities; the museum's documentation of prison life in Tierra del Fuego is the city's most interesting historical site