Information about Ushuaia

For other uses, see Ushuaia (disambiguation).

Cities and towns in Argentina Ushuaia Province Tierra del Fuego Department Ushuaia Location Population 64,000 Demonym ushuaiense Phone code +54 2901 CPA base 9410 Mayor Jorge Garramuño Party Fueguino People's Movement

Ushuaia (pronounced [uˈswa.ja]) is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, and claims to be the world's southernmost city (see discussion below). It is located on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego in a wide bay, guarded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel. Its population in 1999 was estimated at 57,300 ^[1] The city was originally named by early British colonists after the name that the native Yámana people had for the area. Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland is described in great detail in Lucas Bridges’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). For most of the first half of the 20th century, the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals. The Argentine government set up this prison following the example of the British with Australia: being a remote island, escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego would have been impossible. The prisoners thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time cutting wood in the lands around the prison and building the town. They built a railway from the forests to the settlement, now used as a tourist train as the Tren del Fin del Mundo (End of the Earth Train), the southernmost railway in the world. Ushuaia is surrounded by Magellanic subpolar forests; on the hills around the town we can find endemic trees of the area: Drimys winteri (Winter's bark), Maytenus magellanica (hard log mayten) and several species of Nothofagus that give to the landscape a magnificient greenness.

Tourism

Ushuaia is a key access point to the southern regions; it receives regular flights from Buenos Aires at Ushuaia International Airport. The city itself is a popular vacation spot for Buenos Aires.

The tourist attractions include the Tierra del Fuego National Park to see Lapataia Bay; the park can be reached on the Tren del Fin del Mundo from Ushuaia. The city has a museum of Yamana, English, and Argentine settlement, including its years as a prison colony. Wildlife attractions include local birds, penguins and orcas as seen on the islands in the Beagle Channel. There are daily bus tours to Harberton, the estancia of the Bridges family. Some tours also visit the Lighthouse at the End of the World (Faro del fin del mundo) at the Isla de los Estados, made famous by Jules Verne in the novel of the same name.

There are a number of ski areas nearby, like Cerro Castor and Glaciar Martial. The glacier is also a tourist destination during the summer months, when the chairlift operates in both directions. Hiking trails lead from the city's edge to the base of the glacier, which has shrunk dramatically over the past century, as shown in photographs on display. Cerro Castor is a mount located 27 km (17 miles) north of Ushuaia, it is possible to ski hardly 200 m (660 ft) above sea level reaching the summit at 1057 meters (3468 ft) above sea level, constant temperatures allow the longest skiing season in South America, in winters temperatures fluctuates between 0º and -5ºC (32 to 23°F). On its lowest slopes forests can be appreciated.



Cruise ships visiting the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and Antarctica dock at the port, as well as such as Princess Cruises, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises which transit between Valparaiso, Chile, to Buenos Aires and beyond. Orient Lines, MS Marco Polo, Regent Seven Seas Cruises,Hurtigruten and other ships provide expeditions to Antarctica out of Ushuaia.The cruise boats periodically do scenic cruising to Antarctica, as do expedition yachts such as S/V Seal and S/V Pelagic.

Tourists can also visit Cape Horn island (in Chilean waters) by boat or helicopter.

Climate

Despite receiving only 56 cm (22 inches) of rainfall each year, Ushuaia's climate is very wet. On average, the city experiences 160 rainy days a year, and there are many cloudy and foggy days. Because temperatures are cool throughout the year, there is little evaporization. Snowfalls are common in winter and regularly happen in spring, fall, and even summer.

It belongs to the subpolar oceanic climate. And advancing to the southern outer islands the southwestern winds makes them wetter, achieving 1400 mm (59) inches at Isla de los Estados (Staten Island). Averages temperatures coldest month: 1°C (33°F) and hottest month: 9°C (42°F). Record low -20 °C [-4°F] (July), record high 31 °C [87.8°F] (December) and record low ever recorded in summer -6 °C [21°F] (February). Very strong winds whip the town, and that is why trees growing here follow the wind direction, and therefore they are called "flag-trees" for the bent that they are forced to take. Towns in the world with similar climate: Thorshavn, Faroe Islands; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Reykjavik, Iceland; Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Weather averages for Usuhaia, Argentina
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high F (C)
Average low F (C)
Precipitation inch (cm)
Source: Weatherbase[2] 2007

"Southernmost city"

See also: Southernmost settlements Ushuaia claims to be the "Southernmost city in the world."^[3]. There are two other contenders for the title of southernmost city; Puerto Williams on the Chilean island of Navarino (farther south but it has only 2400 inhabitants); and Punta Arenas, also in Chile (much larger but farther north). Several continuously inhabited settlements also south of Ushuaia include Puerto Toro on Isla Navarino, Argentina, Orcadas in the South Orkney Islands, and Esperanza in the Argentine Antarctic territory. Each of these settlements has fewer than 100 residents.

Orcadas and Esperanza are considered stations or bases by nations that do not recognise Argentina's Antarctic territorial claim, but are regarded as permanent communities by the Argentine government. Esperanza has a secondary school, a chapel, and a radio station.

TV program

"Ushuaïa, le magazine de l'Extrême" was the name of a television program, presented by Nicolas Hulot and broadcast on the French TV channel TF1 from September 1987 to June 1995. The show is known in English as Ushuaia: The Ultimate Adventure, and this language's version was hosted by Perri Peltz and was shown on NBC, CNBC, and international affiliates of the Discovery Channel.

Gallery

Panorama of Ushuaia