Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego (/tiˈɛərə dɛl ˈfweɪɡoʊ/, Spanish: [ˈtjera ðel ˈfweɣo]; Spanish for "Land of Fire") is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, with an area of 48,100 km² (18,572 sq mi), and a group of many islands, including Cape Horn and Diego Ramírez Islands. Tierra del Fuego is divided between Chile and Argentina, with the latter controlling the eastern half of the main island and the former the western half plus the islands south of Beagle Channel. The southernmost extent of the archipelago is at about latitude 55 S.

The earliest known human settlement in Tierra del Fuego dates to around 8,000 B.C. Europeans first explored the islands during Ferdinand Magellan's expedition of 1520. No Europeans settled there until the second half of the 19th century, at the height of the sheep farming and gold rush booms. Today, petroleum extraction dominates economic activity in the north of Tierra del Fuego, while tourism, manufacturing, and Antarctic logistics are important in the south.

Tierra del fuego (film)

Tierra del fuego is a 2000 Chilean drama film directed by Miguel Littín. Based on a short story of the same name by Francisco Coloane, it is about the conquest of Tierra del Fuego by Julius Popper. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.

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Tierra del Fuego (disambiguation)

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America.

Tierra del Fuego may also refer to: