Ushuaia

Ushuaia is the capital of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost of the Republic of Argentina. Founded on October 12, 1884, it is located on the shores of the Beagle Channel, surrounded by the Martial mountain range. Besides being the administrative centre of the province, it's an important spot for tourism and as a port; it is the gateway to Antarctica. The name comes from the local indigenous language, ush meaning to the bottom or to the west, and uaia meaning bay or cove ... so it means "bay that penetrates the west". The streets are steep, with red-roofed houses, and the people are lovely.

In Yaghan, Ushuaia means ‘bay that penetrates westward.’ The largest city on Tierra del Fuego, Argentine tourist boards never fail to call it the world’s southernmost city. Perhaps it is the largest city of its size, but the southernmost it is not. Across the Beagle Channel and directly south of the city lies Chile and Isla Navarino with its largest community, Puerto Williams. The Chilean island chain comes sweeping across southern Tierra del Fuego blocking Argentina’s forward march like an arm catching a precocious child. Argentina and Chile both possess portions of the archipelago, with the latter having the eastern half of the major island and the former occupying the western half plus the area south of the Beagle Channel. The cumbersome way the islands have been divided and divvied-up between the two countries highlights the colonization process that tamed the wind-swept land.